Toxic Elements Levels in Water and Some Vegetable Crops Grown in Farms in Bade Local Government Area of Yobe State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study determined heavy metal concentrations in soil, water and some vegetables such as (Spinach (Amaranth caudatus), Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa) and Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)) which were freshly harvested within five various farms (Samaila Hardaway farm, Mohammed Koli farm, MainaBabi farm, Ngatau farm and Sani Chansa farm) at Jawa village in Bade Local Government Area of Yobe state, Nigeria which were digested and analyzed for heavy metals such as As, Cd, Ni, Pb, and Cr. The aforementioned heavy metal concentrations were determined using Micro Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer MP-AES model 4200 of Agilent. The result of the analysis shows that all the heavy metals were detected and exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit. The metals were of the sequence As > Pb > Cd > Ni > Cr in the descending order. The high level of these heavy metals, especially arsenic place the consumers of these vegetable crops grown within the study area at health risk like cancer, kidney failure with time unless an urgent step is taken by relevant agencies to address this issue.