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Characteristic levels of heavy metals in soil profiles of automobile mechanic

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Article  in  The Environmentalist · June 2006

DOI: 10.1007/s10669-006-7482-0

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Environmentalist (2006) 26: 123–128
DOI 10.1007/s10669-006-7482-0
Characteristic levels of heavy metals in soil profiles
of automobile mechanic waste dumps in Nigeria
C.M.A Iwegbue · N.O. Isirimah · C. Igwe ·
E.S. Williams

C Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006
Abstract The characteristic levels of heavy metals (Cd, Cr,
Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn) of soil profiles of automobile mechanic
waste dumps were studied. The concentration of heavy met-
als decreased with the depth of the profile and lateral dis-
tance from the dumpsites. The levels found in this study
exceeded background concentrations and limits for agricul-
tural and residential purposes. The distribution pattern of
heavy metals in the soil profiles were in the following or-
der Pb > Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni > Cr. The mechanic waste
dumps represent potential sources of heavy metal pollution
to environment. The elevated levels of heavy metals in these
soil profiles constitute a serious threat to both surface and
groundwater.
Keywords Heavy metals . Soil profiles . Automobile
mechanic . Waste dumps
Introduction
Municipal solid waste heaps have become landmarks in sev-
eral major cities in Nigeria, blocking motorways and threat-
ening to cause disease epidemics and flooding. Previously
in Port Harcourt automobile workshops were scattered all
over the city, and occupied almost every vacant lot along the
major roads. Wastes were indiscriminately dumped on ev-
ery available space and all categories of urban waste ranging
from lubricating oil films, junked cars to tyres were found
C.M.A Iwegbue () · E.S. Williams
Institute of Geosciences and Space Technology
e-mail: maxipriestley@yahoo.com
N.O. Isirimah · C. Igwe
Institute of Pollution Studies, Rivers State University of Science
&Technology. P.M.B 5080,Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria
to litter along streets and major roads. In 1990, two automo-
bile mechanic villages (Elekohia and Mile 3 Diobu mechanic
villages) were established in Port Harcourt municipality by
the Rivers State Government to curb the menace of wastes
deposited by automobile works and to improve the general
aesthetics of the city. All road mechanics’ sheds/workshops
were relocated to these two mechanic villages and all auto-
mobile businesses ranging from servicing, repairs and paint-
ing were restricted to these areas. Despite the establishment
of these mechanic villages, other roadside mechanic work-
shops are still found scattered along major road, highways
and streets. Enforcement of existing regulations remains a
problem.
Wastes from automobile workshop activities can be cate-
gorized into (i) maintenance and materials handling wastes-
these include empty drums and containers (ii) solvents used
for maintenance and cleaning and paint thinning (iii) spent
heat transfer fluids (iv) spent lubricants (vii) spent hydraulic
fluids (vi) stripped oily sludge (vii) spent sand blasting media
and (viii) waste water.
These wastes ranging from petrol, grease, oils, suspended
solid, organic solvents, junked car parts contain heavy met-
als that may be phytotoxic to plants and injurious to ani-
mals (FEPA, 1991). Most of these wastes are dumped on
land. Apart from heavy metal pollution of soil by automo-
bile waste, they could also cause acidification of the soils. The
heavy metals are themselves toxic, and unlike other pollu-
tants, are not biodegradable and undergo a global ecobiolog-
ical cycling (Nurberg, 1984). Moreover, unexpected rapid
mobilization of heavy metal could result in environmental
catastrophe, menacing human health and welfare by poison-
ing water and food (Stiglini and Anderberg, 1993).
The demand for land suitable for development in urban
areas often exceeds the supply and the methods of assessing
and guidance for redevelopment are lacking in countries like
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124
Nigeria. However, in United Kingdom, it is the responsibility
of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Redevelopment
of Contaminated Land (ICRCL). This committee introduced
the concept of ‘trigger concentration’ a series of values for
which principal contaminants of soils below which it is rea-
sonable to regard the site as uncontaminated and to proceed
with the development accordingly (ICRCL, 1983; 1987). The
application of the concept includes provision that if the re-
sult exceeds the upper trigger concentrations, some remedial
action is required before the chosen form of development is
to proceed.
The aims of the present study were to determine the con-
centration of heavy metals and physicochemical character-
istics of soil profiles of automobile mechanic waste dumps
with a view to providing information on risks to human en-
vironment and guidance for redevelopment.
Materials and methods
Study Area:
Port Harcourt (Latitude 4.30◦ N and longitude 7.05◦ E) is
found in the coastal plain area located within the eastern coast
of Nigeria (Latitude 4.15◦ to 7.05◦ N longitude 5.32◦ E to
9.16◦ E). The mean annual rainfall in the area ranges from
1988-2590mm and is bimodal. Annual temperature varies
between 27.6◦ C to 35◦ C. This area has generally high rela-
tive humidity increasing from North to South with the mean
monthly relative humidity ranging from 58.8 to 95.0%. The
soil of the coastal plains comprises old alluvial deposits over
Table 1 The status of
automobile mechanic dumps in
Port Harcourt metropolis Location
East West Road
(A)
Elekahia
(B)
Mile 3 Diobu
(C)
Trans Amadi
(D)
Borokiri
(E)
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Environmentalist (2006) 26: 123–128
unconsolidated sedimentary parent materials, which were
laid down during the Miocene-Pleistocene period.
Sampling and analysis
Soil samples were collected from 5 designated automobile
mechanic waste dumps within Port Harcourt metropolis,
namely East West Road (A), Elekohia (B), Mile 3 Diobu
(C), Trans Amadi (D), Borokiri (E), and control site (F).
The status of the automobile mechanic waste dumps stud-
ied is presented in Table 1. The soil samples were collected
within 100 m × 100 m quadrant around the dump sites.
The quadrant was subdivided into 10 cells (10 m × 10 m)
with each cell denoting a sample station. A composite sam-
ple consisting of at least 5 random samples were collected
in each cell at the 0–15 cm, 15–30 cm and 30–60 cm depths.
The soil samples were collected at 0–15 cm depths at a
distance of 0, 50 m and 100 m away from the point of
impacts.
Analytical determination
Soil particle size distribution was determined by hydrom-
eter method for silt and clay and by dry sieving for sand
fractions (Reeuwijk, 1995). Soil pH was measured in a 1:25
(v/v) ratio of soil and water suspension (Reeuwijk, 1995).
Electrical conductivity was measured using conductivity me-
ter at 25◦ C. Total organic carbon was determined by wet
oxidation method of Walkley and Black (1934) as modi-
fied by Juo (1979). Cation exchange capacity (CEC) was
determined as a sum of basic cations extracted with neutral
Age
Condition (years) Waste type
In use 1993-Date Metals, tyres, plastics, oils, grease,
petrol, polyethylene, polyfillers,
paint drums, trash
In use 1991-Date Metals, tyre, plastics, oils, grease
petrol, polyethylene, pollyfillers
and trash
In use 1991-Date Metals, tyres, plastics oils, grease,
acids, polyethylene, pollyfillers,
paint containers, trash and
cabbage.
In use 1994-Date Metals tyres, oil, grease, acid,
polyethylene, trash garbage and
other food wastes, spent calcium
carbide
In use 1996-Date Metals, tyres, oil and grease waste
spent calcium carbide,
polyethylene, pollyfillers, trash,
garbage
Environmentalist (2006) 26: 123–128 125

1M NH4 OAc and the extractable acidity (Reeuwijk, 1995).
Calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium were deter-
mined by atomic absorption or flame emission spectrometry,
and soil acidity by back titration with 0.1M NaOH. Total
nitrogen by semi-micro Kjeldahl digestion method. Avail-
able phosphorus was determined by Bray and Kurtz method
as modified by Juo (1979). 1.0 g of the soil sample was di-
gested with a mixture of hydrofluoric, nitric, perchloric and
sulphuric (HF-HNO3 -HClO4 -H2 SO4 ) acids. The clear digest
was diluted to 50 mL with distilled deionized water. The
sample solutions were analyzed for Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and
Zn using air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectropho-
tometer (AAS) (Perkin Elmer A3100). The atomic absorption
spectrophotometer was fitted with D2 background correction
device.
Results and discussion
The result of the physicochemical characteristics of the stud-
ied soil profiles are presented in Table 2. The result indicates
that soils of the automobile waste dumpsites are moderately
acidic. The soil pH serves as useful index of availability of
nutrients, the potency of toxic substances present in the soil
and the physical properties of the soil. Soil reaction affects the
distribution and growth of plants. Several studies have shown
that availability of heavy metals is pH dependent. The pH
values of the study sites indicate a generally high tendency for
high availability of these metals hence, this is a natural mech-
anism increasing the risk of, at least, plant uptake. The pH
values recorded in this study are similar to pH values reported
by Odu et al. (1985), Isirimah (1987), Banjoko and Sobulo
(1990) for some other Nigerian soils. All sites have compar-
atively high cation exchange capacity (CEC) than the control
site. The CEC values were higher than the mean CEC of 8.4
Cmolkg−1 reported for Rivers State soils (Isirimah, 1987).
The CEC values found in this study are similar to CEC of
composts and waste amended soils (Giusquani et al., 1988,
Rodella et al., 1995) and values reported by Kabala and Singh
(2001) for soil profiles in the vicinity of copper smelter in
Poland.
The vertical distribution of the heavy metals in the soil
profiles of automobile mechanic waste dump is presented in
Table 3. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) (p > 0.05) of all
individual concentration at all point show that the differ-
ences observed among the dumps are significant. These dif-
ferences could be attributed to differences in the moisture,
organic matter,and clay content as well as the cation ex-
change capacity of the soils. Guidelines for heavy metals
in soils are not available in Nigeria, so most comparisons
are made with international guidelines. There is a signifi-
cant decrease in the concentration of metals with depth in
all sites except for zinc in sites B and C. This decrease is
accompanied by decrease in organic matter content, pH,

Table 2 Physicochemical properties of soil profiles of automobile waste dumps in Port Harcourt

Particle size
Av- distribution%
pH(H2 O) EC OM PO4
Location Depth (cm) 1.2:5 μS/cm % C/N mg/kg CEC Sand Silt Clay

A 0–15 6.55 0.236 6.57 11.84 46.7 26.24 88.4 3.4 8.2
15–30 5.60 0.161 4.93 11.88 53.3 22.03 86.4 3.4 10.2
30–60 5.38 0.225 2.76 12.31 33.3 20.46 69.4 10.4 20.2
B 0–15 6.84 0.236 6.77 11.85 26.7 34.78 86.8 3.8 9.4
15–30 6.79 0.262 5.78 11.92 22.7 23.50 82.8 4.4 12.4
30–60 6.98 0.388 5.00 11.66 20.0 25.87 71.8 7.8 20.4
C 0–15 7.16 0.322 6.93 11.76 22.0 78.79 80.8 72 11.8
15–30 7.06 0.236 6.44 11.63 22.0 35.35 79.8 4.4 11.8
30–60 7.40 0.158 5.53 11.91 40.0 12.90 66.8 8.4 24.8
D 0–15 6.70 0.236 5.62 11.46 23.9 24.92 80.0 10 10.0
15–30 6.40 0.158 5.59 10.45 23.0 19.65 72.0 8.0 20.0
30–60 6.30 0.136 3.59 10.4 31.0 17.46 71.0 7.0 22.0
E 0–15 5.80 0.184 4.21 11.46 28.8 32.90 78.0 10.0 12.0
15–30 5.60 0.161 3.60 11.44 26.8 23.90 72.0 8.0 20.0
30–60 5.40 0.146 1.81 11.73 36.4 19.19 72.0 6.0 22.0
F 0–15 5.70 0.114 4.66 13.40 140 8.09 86.0 5.0 9.0
15–30 5.20 0.104 2.99 13.31 56.7 6.23 82.4 6.0 11.6
30–60 4.80 0.101 2.99 12.36 53.3 6.24 80.0 8.0 12.0

OM = Organic matter; EC = Electrical conductivity; CEC = Cation exchange capacity; Av-PO4 2 = Available phosphorus;

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126 Environmentalist (2006) 26: 123–128

Table 3 Vertical distribution of heavy metals in soil profile of automobile mechanic waste dumps in Port Harcourt

Depth cm A B C D E F MEAN± SD

Pb (mgkg−1 )
0–15 560 580 630 540 580 246 578 ± 33
15–30 504 560 599 520 460 200 528 ± 53
30–60 316.2 505 544 510 420 180 501 ± 48
Cu (mgkg−1 )
0–15 340 390 630.1 348 280 145.81 397 ± 136
15–30 340 359.5 599.2 320 260 120.8 376 ± 130
30–60 316.2 330.5 544.82 314 210 110.6 343 ± 122
Zn (mgkg−1 )
0–15 440.10 460.20 500.5 418.2 360 160.27 435.8 ± 52.1
15–30 409.2 505.5 520.0 404.6 320 120.27 429 ± 79.5
30–60 400 505 510.2 400.2 300 280.6 423.1 ± 87.3
Cd (mgkg−1 )
0–15 48.0 40.5 31.05 38 36.4 0.56 38.75 ± 6.22
15–30 44.5 39.10 26.21 36.4 30.2 0.43 35.28 ± 7.22
30–60 40.0 36.14 26.0 30 28.2 0.33 32.07 ± 5.82
Cr (mgkg−1 )
0–15 10.0 15.10 11.21 8.60 20.10 5.86 13.00 ± 4.65
15–30 9.20 8.10 11.20 7.85 21.1 5.40 11.47 ± 5.53
30–60 8.12 8.20 11.10 6.98 21.0 5.20 11.0 ± 5.95
Ni (mgkg−1 )
0–15 15.9 20.5 21.70 13.80 15.60 11.99 17.38 ± 3.23
15–30 15.0 19.5 20.70 12.75 14.25 11.80 16.32 ± 3.29
30–60 15.0 23.4 18.70 12.40 12.40 11.62 16.52 ± 4.37

cation exchange capacity and an increase in the clay fraction
with depth (see Table 2). The concentration of these metals in
the surface and subsurface soils are significantly higher than
those found in typical soils (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias,
1992) except nickel that has concentrations within the range
found in natural soils (Page et al., 1981; Alloway, 1990). The
concentrations of lead we report are similar to the 381.72-
443.36 mg/kg range reported by Bamgbose et al. (1999) for
soils of some municipal waste dumps in the western part of
Nigeria.
The threshold value for lead under the Interdepartmen-
tal Committee on the Redevelopment of Contaminated Land
(ICRCL) scheme used in the UK is 500 μg/g. This implies
that concentration below this figure should not cause a prob-
lem. In contrast, the Dutch target value of 85 μg/g Pb for
a standard soil and Canadian background value (benchmark
levels) are even lower at 25 μg/g, but the triggered con-
centration for remediation of agricultural land is 375 μg/g
(Alloway and Arye, 1994). We found that the concentrations
of lead in all sites and depths exceeded the UK threshold val-
ues, Dutch target value, Canadian Benchmark levels and the
triggered concentration for remediation. Lead showed a dif-
ferent correlation pattern with depth. In 0−15 cm depth, lead
showed a weak positive correlation pH (r = 0.371), organic
matter (r = 0.333), Cr (r = 0.236), strong positive correla-
tion with cation exchange capacity (CEC) (r = 0.940), clay
content (r = 0.595), copper (r = 0.812), zinc (r = 0.553),
nickel (r = 0.830) and negative correlation with copper
(r = 0.648), sand (r = 0.165), and silt content (r = −0.091).
The correlation pattern suggested that lead is associated with
exchange sites of the clay colloid and a change in pH can
lead to rapid mobilization of the metal. In the 15–30 cm
depths lead showed positive significant correlation with pH
(r = 0.962) and Ni (r = 0.817). A similar correlation pattern
was observed for the 30–60 cm depths. The correlation pat-
tern suggests that lead at the subsurface is mainly associated
with organic matter content of the soil. The concentration
of copper in the soil profiles fall within the range of 45.6 to
1210 mg Cu kg−1 reported by Ma and Rao (1997) for con-
taminated soil but are distinctly lower than the mean value
(847 ± 144 mg Cu kg−1 ) reported for domestic garden soil
around a smelting complex in Poland (Beavington, 1975).
The concentration of copper in the soil profile exceeded the
Canadian environmental quality criteria for the following
land uses, agriculture and residential purposes but the con-
centrations are far below the limits for industrial purposes
(CCME, 1991).
Like other metals, the concentrations of cadmium, and
chromium, in the soil profiles exceeded the Canadian en-
vironmental quality criteria for agricultural, residential and

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Environmentalist (2006) 26: 123–128 127

industrial purposes. However, the concentrations of nickel Table 4 Lateral distribution of heavy metals along a gradient from the
found in our study in all sites were far below the Cana- automobile waste dump in Port Harcourt
dian environmental quality criteria for all purposes. The Distance Point of impact 50 metres 100 metres
concentration of cadmium we found are consistent with −1
Lead (mgkg )
ranges reported by Hickey and Kittrick (1984), Ma and Rao
A 560.0 420.0 300.0
(1997), Lavado et al. (1998) for contaminated soils but were B 580.0 440.0 310.0
distinctly higher than those previously reported by Bamgbose C 630.0 520.0 360.0
et al. (1999) for municipal waste dumps in western Nigeria, D 540.0 380.0 290.0
Pizl and Josens (1995) for a gradient of urbanization in Bel- E 580.0 464.0 280.0
gium, and Beavington (1975) and Szerzen et al. (1993) in Mean ± SD 578.0 ± 330 444.8 ± 52.1 309.2 ± 29.9
the vicinity of copper smelters in Australia and Poland re- Copper (mgkg−1 )
spectively. Cadmium showed weak correlation with organic A 340.0 215.0 147.0
matter (r = 0.153), pH (r = 0.190) and positive correla- B 390.0 220.0 150.0
C 630.1 380.0 138.0
tion with cation exchange capacity (r = 0.728) and negative
D 348.0 156.0 100.0
correlation with clay content (r = 0.911). The concentra- E 280.0 160.0 118.0
tions of chromium found in our study were consistent with Mean ± SD 397.0 ± 136.0 226.2+91.0 130.7 ± 21.3
those of Bamgbose et al. (1999) for some municipal waste Cadmium(mgkg−1 )
dumps in Western Nigeria. With typical levels of 40 mg Ni A 48.00 22.00 12.60
kg−1 , nickel toxicity is acute in acid soils. The concentra- B 40.50 18.60 9.30
tions of nickel recorded in our study were lower than val- C 31.05 19.60 8.40
ues reported by Hickey and Kittrick (1984) but are higher D 38.00 20.50 6.30
than levels reported by Beavington (1975) for contaminated E 36.20 15.60 5.80
Mean ± SD 38.75 ± 6.22 19.30 ± 2.40 8.5 ± 2.7
soils.
Chromium (mgkg−1 )
The concentrations of metals studied with respect to dis-
A 10.00 7.40 4.60
tance from the automobile mechanic waste dumps are sum-
B 15.10 9.12 5.40
marized in Tables 4. The distribution of cadmium, copper, C 11.21 6.80 5.60
lead, zinc, chromium and nickel follows the expected global D 8.69 5.40 3.70
distribution pattern (Lavado et al., 1988). The soils closer E 20.10 44.0 2.60
to the automobile mechanic waste dumps show the highest Mean ± SD 13.00 ± 4.65 6.60 ± 1.80 4.4 ± 2.20
average concentration. The further the sampling sites away Ni (mgkg−1 )
from the mechanic waste dump, the lower the concentra- A 15.90 8.40 3.80
tions of these metals. This is consistent with observations of B 20.50 11.60 5.60
C 20.10 10.40 6.20
Pizl and Josen (1995), and Lavado et al. (1998) for a gradi-
D 13.80 7.60 3.20
ent of urbanization in Belgium and Argentina respectively.
E 15.60 6.40 2.40
The average concentrations of lead at 50m and 100m dis- Mean ± SD 17.18 ± 2.96 8.88 ± 2.10 4.20 ± 1.67
tance from the dumpsites were below the Canadian interim
environmental criteria for residential and industrial purpose,
but exceed the criteria for agricultural purposes at 50m dis- anomalously high concentrations of heavy metals relative
tance. The concentrations of cadmium, chromium, copper to the normal background levels, therefore the presence of
and nickel at 50m and 100m distances exceeded background the metal is not sufficient evidence of pollution, the relative
levels (Kabata-Pendias and Pendias, 1992; Page et al., 1981) concentration is all important. The concentration of heavy
and limits for agricultural and residential purposes (CEEM, metals from our study decreased with depth of the soil profiles
1991). The concentrations of copper in this study were higher and lateral distances from the automobile mechanic waste
than those reported by Bamgbose et al. (1991) for contami- dumps. Each soil profile showed a significant elevated metal
nated sites. concentration. The concentration of these metals exceeded
background levels and limits for agricultural and residential
purposes. The result is indicative of the fact that soils of
Conclusion these automobile waste dumps require some remedial action
before any form of chosen development can proceed on such
Heavy metals occur in rock-forming minerals and so there is a land. The distribution pattern of the heavy metals in the soil
range of normal background concentrations of these elements profiles were in the order Pb > Zn > Cu > Cd > Ni > Cr.
in soil, sediment and living organisms. Pollution give rise to The automobile waste dumps represent potentials source of

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128
heavy contamination to the ecosystem and/or threat to human
and animal health, groundwater and surface water.
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