<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Refuse dumpsites often contain materials which are capable of polluting surrounding soils especially if the dumpsites are not adequately shielded from the surrounding area. This study examined chemical speciation and mobility of heavy metals in three urban towns in the Niger Delta. Soil samples were collected from three dumpsites in each of the three selected urban towns at 0-15 cm, 15-30 cm and 30-45 cm depths. The chemical speciation of the heavy metals in the soils was determined using the Tessier’s sequential extraction procedure. The results showed that on the average, the residual fraction was the predominant fraction of all the metals except Pb which was dominant in the organic fraction. The mobility factor followed the order Zn > Fe > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cd > Cu. The study indicates that the metals studied do not pose environmental risk considering their relatively low concentrations and the chemical forms they are associated with. It is however recommended that the sites be continuously monitored because of the deleterious health effects of exposure to heavy metal pollution in the events of reclaim.</p>
</abstract>

Refuse dumpsites often contain materials which are capable of polluting surrounding soils especially if the dumpsites are not adequately shielded from the surrounding area. This study examined chemical speciation and mobility of heavy metals in three urban towns in the Niger Delta. Soil samples were collected from three dumpsites in each of the three selected urban towns at 0-15 cm, 15-30 cm and 30-45 cm depths. The chemical speciation of the heavy metals in the soils was determined using the Tessier’s sequential extraction procedure. The results showed that on the average, the residual fraction was the predominant fraction of all the metals except Pb which was dominant in the organic fraction. The mobility factor followed the order Zn > Fe > Pb > Cr > Ni > Cd > Cu. The study indicates that the metals studied do not pose environmental risk considering their relatively low concentrations and the chemical forms they are associated with. It is however recommended that the sites be continuously monitored because of the deleterious health effects of exposure to heavy metal pollution in the events of reclaim.

Chemical speciation and mobility of heavy metals in soils of refuse dumpsites in some urban towns in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Ovidius University Annals of Chemistry

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Refuse dumpsites often contain materials which are capable of polluting surrounding soils especially if the dumpsites are not adequately shielded from the...

Chemical speciation and mobility of heavy metals in soils of refuse dumpsites in some urban towns in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Published Online: Sep 18, 2020

Page range: 66 - 72

Received: May 21, 2020

Accepted: Jul 07, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/auoc-2020-0013

Keywords
heavy metals, speciation, mobility, dumpsite, soil, Niger Delta

© 2020 Godswill O. Tesi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Chemical speciation and mobility of heavy metals in soils of refuse dumpsites in some urban towns in the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Published Online: Sep 18, 2020

Page range: 66 - 72

Received: May 21, 2020

Accepted: Jul 07, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/auoc-2020-0013

Keywordsheavy metals, speciation, mobility, dumpsite, soil, Niger Delta

© 2020 Godswill O. Tesi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
heavy metals, speciation, mobility, dumpsite, soil, Niger Delta