Assessment of the Heavy Metal Concentrations in Selected Food/Plant Samples from Kano State, Nigeria Using the X-Ray Fluorescence Technique

EasyChair Preprint 5742

Abstract

Heavy metals are natural components of the earth’s crust; they are always present in the environment but anthropogenic activities often introduce them in larger quantities into the environment. Essential metals like Fe, Cu, Zn are needed for body growth and development. Others such as Pb, Cd e.t.c can cause adverse health effects when inhaled, ingested or absorbed. Therefore, the toxicities of heavy metals have gained public attention especially in developing countries. The aim of this research is therefore to determine the concentrations of heavy metals in some selected food and plant samples from Kano state, northern Nigeria. Thirteen (13) common food and plant samples were randomly collected from Dawanau and Yankura markets in Kano state. The samples were dried and ground to powdered form. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique was used for the analysis of the heavy metals. Each of the powdered samples was pelletized and placed in the sample holder for irradiation with x-rays of sufficient energy. The x-rays were generated in the Ag-anode tube operating at 25KV and 0.050mA. The sample holder was shielded in order to prevent exposure to the x-rays coming from the tube. The presence and concentrations of every element in the samples were detected by the XRF detector and were displayed by a read-out computer. Twenty heavy metals were detected in the samples.  The concentration in the food samples ranged from <0.178 - 922.93 mg/kg while that of the plant samples ranged from 1.021 – 8853.84 mg/kg. The metal concentrations were compared with guidelines from WHO/FAO.

Keyphrases: X-ray fluorescence, heavy metals, irradiation

@booklet{EasyChair:5742,
  author    = {Jumoke Oladeji and Idowu Farai},
  title     = {Assessment of the Heavy Metal Concentrations in Selected Food/Plant Samples from Kano State, Nigeria Using the X-Ray Fluorescence Technique},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 5742},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2021}}