EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF METALS ON SOIL SAMPLES, SERUM CREATININE AND BLOOD UREA NITROGEN OF RESIDENTS IN SELECTED INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITIES IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

Abstract

Information on the major exposure biomarkers of people living around industrial areas in Africa are very limited. This study aims to analyse the level of hazardous metal (cadmium, lead, copper, and zinc) in two seasons’ soil samples of four industrial and one (1) control areas of Ogun State, Nigeria. Similarly, blood samples of the volunteers (n = 200) were analysed for the impacts of the metals on serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea (BUN). The mean metal concentrations for soils samples exhibited significant differences with strong positive correlations (r = 0.995 and 1). Compared with regulatory limits for normal individual concerning BUN and SCr, the results of volunteers were all higher, with BUN at ~200% and SCr at ~82% more. The results presented in this study revealed that both the soil environment and the body health system of the residents are being affected by the rapid industrialization, hence heavily burdened.