Concentration of Fe, Cu, Cr, Zn and Pb in Makera – Drain, Kaduna, Nigeria

Abstract

The concentration of Fe, Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd and Pb in effluent from Makera drain in Kaduna was determined seasonally by the use of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The monthly levels of the metal concentrations and the mean metal concentration of the four sampled stations showed that Fe>C>Cu>P>Zn>Cd in decreasing order of magnitude. The concentration of some of these metals determined were higher than the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) levels of 0.1mg/l, 0.05 mg/l , 0.01 and 0.1mg/1 for Fe, Cu, Cd and Pb respectively, for drinking water. There were high significant variation (P<0.01) between stations, months and seasons, except for Zn, which had significant variation (P<0.05) between months and insignificant variation (P<0.05) between seasons. This study highlights the implication of the high concentration of these metals on the biota and consequently man who is at the end of the food chain.