Heavy Metals Status on Irrigated Urban Farming Sites of Katsina City, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the concentration of heavy metals in soil under urban irrigation farming in some selected sites in Katsina city. Soil samples were collected from 0-15 cm, 20-30 cm, and 40-50 cm and analyzed for heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Zn, Fe, Mn, and Ni) using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. T-test was used to compare the mean values of the various heavy metals, Product moment correlation was employed to assess the level of correlation among the investigated metals. Analysis of the soil samples collected show traces of heavy metals at different soil depth and there are variations of pollution index values in the selected irrigated sites. Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn) and Nickel (Ni) were the dominant pollutants in the sites. It was concluded that the irrigated sites are polluted by waste water, though the pollution index value indicates moderate pollution level.