Determination of Heavy Metals Concentration in Soils Used for Cultivation of Vegetables in Dorowa Mining Areas of Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, Nigeria

Tin mining activities carried out in parts of plateau state from the beginning of this century have left behind a post mining environment scarred by numerous mine pond and uncontrolled heaps of mine. This has devastated vast portions of its land mass. Tin mining and processing constitute a source of environmental pollution due to its associated minerals which pose harmful threats in low concentration to humans and animals. The samples used for this researched work was collected from Kapang, Selebirom and Sabon Angwa all in Dorowa District  mining area of Barkin Ladi, Nigeria. The experiment was designed to ascertain the concentration of some heavy metals Cr, Co, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu and Mn. in soil used for cultivation of vegetable. The samples were analyse using EDX3600B-Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence spectrometer, Jiangsu Skyray information Technology Co. Ltd. The result obtained shows the range of concentrations of heavy metals in the soil as: Cr 50.00±0.02 to 16.20±0.43mg/kg, Co 902.70±0.14 to 125.20±0.21mg/kg, Ni 79.20±0.31 to 70.01±0.12mg/kg, Pb 67.10±0.23 to 10.10±0.02mg/kg, Zn 2080.00±0.67 to 1244.50±0.45mg/kg, Mn 145.40±0.11 to 53.10±0.01mg/kg, Cu 65.70±0.08 to 54.30±0.23mg/kg respectively. The result shows that the soil are contaminated with the heavy metals. Thus, the soil around the area will not be good for the cultivation of crops and vegetables.