Heavy Metals Content of Common Tubers from Selected Farm Locations in Enugu North District, South...

Heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Pb, Ni, As, Cr, Mn, Cu, and Zn) in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), yam (Dioscorea ssp), and cassava (Manihot esculenta) were measured in four farm locations in Enugu North District's local government districts. As previously described, samples were prepared according to conventional procedures and digested with a 5:1:1 mixture of trioxonitrate (V) acid, tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid, and perchloric acid. An Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer was used to determine the metal content (Perkin Elmer 1100B model). For Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, As, and Cd, the range of heavy metals concentrations recorded for sweet potato in the four farm locations were 60.262.30-312.6631.24 mg/kg, 20.061.27-40.554.08 mg/kg, 12.602.00-32.063.20 mg/kg, 8.203.00-15.001.07 mg/kg, 0.050.07-0.801.27 mg/kg, 0.070.42-0. Mn, Ni, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, and As concentrations in cassava were 74.2010.97-312.2031.20 mg/kg, 14.201.29-38.226.07 mg/kg, 10.883.03-32.000.70 mg/kg, 3.200.20-11.201.09 mg/kg, 0.010.20-0.181.27 mg/kg, 0.020.03-0.120.07 mg/kg, 0.010.03-0.100.0 While Cd was not found in any of the tuber samples from farm locations B and D, arsenic was found in all of them, with the exception of cassava grown in farm location B. Except for chromium, which was slightly higher than the suggested limit of 0.05 mg/kg, all of the heavy metals examined were below the World Health Organization (WHO) permitted threshold. Except for 0.801.27 mg/kg Cr in sweet potatoes grown in location C, all tubers had chromium concentrations below the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration's (SEPA) acceptable level of 0.5 mg/kg. As a result, a risk assessment of Cr intake was advised to determine the level of human exposure to Cr in the research area due to the consumption of these tubers.

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