An Assessment of Heavy Metals Contents in the Soil around a Cement Factory in Ewekoro, Nigeria Using Pollution Indices

This study investigated the concentrations of heavy metals in soils around the WAPCO cement factory in Ewekoro in southwestern Nigeria. A total of 27 soil samples were collected from three locations (Ewekoro, Papalanto, and Itori) around the cement factory. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the concentrations of metals. The results revealed that the mean values of the metals content in the three soil samples were in the order: Fe > Zn > Mn > Cr > Cu > Pb. The concentrations of Pb present in Ewekoro and Papalanto samples were 0.391 and 0.243 mg/kg, respectively while Pb was not found in the control area (Itori). The concentrations of the heavy metals in the soil samples were found to decrease as the distances of the communities from the cement factory increased. Our study revealed that study area soils were affected by dust emissions from the cement factory as shown in the very low concentrations of heavy metal contents of the control study area, Itori.