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Metal contamination assessment in the urban stream sediments and tributaries of coastal area southwest Nigeria

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Abstract

A geochemical assessment of the fifty surface stream sediments from Ikorodu Southwest Nigeria was carried out to determine the level of contamination. The sediments were dried, disaggregated and sieved to <75 μm fraction for geochemical analysis, using the aqua-regia digestion technique and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Major elements showed the following trend Fe > Al > Ca > Na > Mg > K > P > Ti and were below the average shale concentration, except for Na in one sample. Results from factor and correlation analyses showed two groups of trace elements Ni, Co, Mn, U, Th, Sr, V, La, Cr, Ba, Sc, Ga, Cs, Nb, Rb, Y,Ce and Mo, Pb, Zn, As, Cd, Sb, Sn, Zr, which were from geogenic and anthropogenic sources, respectively. The enrichment factor showed that Cd, Bi, Pt, Mo and Ag were, for all samples, within background concentrations, except those of the Ogun River and the Owode Onirin, which showed significant enrichment of Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb and Ag, depletion to minimal enrichment for Bi, Mo and moderate enrichment for Pt. The contamination degree ranged between 1.25 and 143.79. The highest value was found at Owode Onirin and the lowest, at Igbonla 7. The geo-accumulation index showed that all the stream sediments ranged between practically uncontaminated to moderately to highly contaminated—with Pb, Sn, Zn, Cd, Cu, Cr, Zr and Ba. The potential ecological risk factor and environmental risk index (IER) showed that all of the samples were within the class of low to medium contamination risk, except samples from the Owode Onirin, which fell within the class of very high risk to extremely high risk respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria

    Abiodun M. Odukoya & Olumuyiwa Akande

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  1. Abiodun M. Odukoya
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  2. Olumuyiwa Akande
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Correspondence to Abiodun M. Odukoya.

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Odukoya, A.M., Akande, O. Metal contamination assessment in the urban stream sediments and tributaries of coastal area southwest Nigeria. Chin. J. Geochem. 34, 431–446 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-014-0027-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-014-0027-1

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