Heavy metal concentrations in sediments, Soil, waters and mosses around Pan African paper mills, Webuye

Abstract

Atomic absorption spectroscopic analysis of soils, sediments, water and mosses in the vicinity of Pan African Paper Mills, Webuye, Kenya has revealed the prevalence of the heavy metals Cu, Zn, Cr, Cd, Fe and Pb in the environment. Mean concentrations of Zn ranged between 30.0 and 9 1.0j..Jg/g in soils and 569.2 and 976.9j..Jg/I in water. Mean Fe concentrations ranged between 2116.6 and 2444.2j..Jg/g in soils, and between 1107.7 and 3170.7j..Jg/I in water. The mean concentrations of Pb and Cd were the lowest, ranging between 0.3 and 93.9j..Jg/g of dry soil. The concentrations of Fe and Zn in the soil samples were higher than the rest of the metals analyzed. The concentrations of these metals varied seasonally with the mean season concentrations of the heavy metals ranging between 2.8 and 2636.3j..Jg/1 in the water samples and between 6.89 and 2202.4j..Jg/g of dry weight in the sediment samples. The soils and mosses recorded slightly higher levels of the heavy metals during the dry season. The concentrations of these heavy metals in water samples downstream of River Nzoia are significantly higher than the international water quality guidelines as outlined by USEPA, except for Zn. The data obtained in this work shows that the Pan-African Paper Mill contributes to the impairment of the environment through atmospheric deposition of heavy metal particulates in the vicinity of the factory and effluent discharged into the nearby River Nzoia. This pollution load may playa significant role in the impairment of plant and animal (human) health in vicinity of the factory.