Abstract:

The accumulation of four heavy metals (Mn, Cr, Cd & Pb) in Carica papaya and physico-chemical parameters of soil from three refuse dump sites in Rivers State, was examined. The study sites were located in three Local Government Areas of Rivers State namely Ikwerre (station1), Oyigbo (station2) and Eleme (station3). The leaf, root, fruit of Carica papaya and soil samples, were collected from the three stations in tandem with standard method. Samples were collected for six months, at intervals of six weeks. Atomic Absorption Spectrophometer (AAS) was used to analyse metals (Mn, Cr, Cd, and Pb) concentration (mg/kg). The soil samples were further analysed to obtain the physico-chemical parameters (pH, Electrical conductivity (µs/cm), NO4-2(mg/kg), and PO3(mg/kg). The result showed that the metals concentration was descending as follows Mn>Pb>Cr>Cd in the leaf, root and fruit respectively across the sampled stations. The accumulations of metals in the sampled soils were higher than the temporal control in this study. The metals showed a strong and positive correlation with physico-chemical parameters in the three stations at p<0.05. The leaf, root and fruit of Carica papaya in the study sites, showed efficient accumulation of heavy metals and should not be consumed on a long term.