COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF INDEX OF GEOACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS IN SOME SELECTED AUTO MECHANIC SOILS IN ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution in soil has become a major challenge due to its negative effects on the environment. At such comparative analysis of its geoaccumulation in soil becomes imperative. To achieve this task, sixteen soil samples were randomly selected; five from each of the investigated auto mechanic village and a control sample were all used to evaluate the proportion of anthropogenic influence on heavy metals in soil. The results obtained showed that the relative abundance of heavy metals in soil in the investigated sites were seen to follow a sequence of Cu > Zn > Cr > Fe > Pb > Ni > Cd; Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Fe > Pb > Cd and Zn > Cr > Cu > Fe > Pb > Ni > Cd in Apo, Kugbo and Zuba auto mechanic villages respectively. Also, results of Index of Geoaccumulation [Igeo] obtained revealed that the investigated soil samples had various degrees of pollution ranging from unpolluted to extremely polluted by heavy metal and this could be attributed to indiscriminate discharge of waste in soil and poor waste management practice. Comparatively, a trend can be deduced for the results of the quantification of anthropogenic inputs of heavy metals in soil in the studied area as follows:Apo MV: Cd (100%) >Cu (99.5%) > Fe (99.4%) > Zn (98.6%) > Pb (69.3%) > Ni (45.3%) > Cr (5.5%)Kugbo MV: Cd (100%) >Fe (98.9%) >Cu (96.4%) >Zn (95.4%) >Ni (54.1%) >Pb (39.6%) > Cr (-40 5%) Zuba MV: Cd (100%) >Fe (99.1%) >Zn (93.8%) > Cu (92.7%) > Pb (59.0%) > Ni (15.5%) > Cr (-44.5%) The various models applied in this research, revealed various levels of pollution associated with heavy metal contamination in soil in the three auto mechanic villages.Keywords: Soil, heavy metals, auto mechanic villages, modeling, pollution, Index of geoaccumulation.