Soil Health, Our Health: Effect of Paint Effluent Contaminated Soil on the Heavy Metal Content

A study was conducted at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike to evaluate the growth and tissue metal content of Abelmoschus esculentus in soil which had been subjected to long term dumping of paint factory waste. Agronomic parameters stem girth, leaf length and plant height of Okra plant were measured at two week intervals, and after 12 weeks of growth, the soil, roots, leaves and fruit of okra were analyzed for cadmium, lead, zinc, iron and cobalt. The results showed that the growth of Abelmoschus esculentus was not significantly hindered by paint effluent contaminant. However, in comparison with plants grown in non contaminated soil, the concentration of lead (73.9 mg/kg) in Okra leaves was significantly high while the average concentration of zinc (59.2 mg/kg) in its roots was significantly high (P