Assessing Levels of Hazardous Metals in Soil and Medicinal Plants Samples from Asafo, Suame and Asante-Mampong Auto-Mechanic Workshops

Contents of hazardous metals (Pb, As and Cd) were assessed in medicinal plants and soil samples from auto-mechanic workshops and background soils in Suame and Asafo suburbs of Kumasi and Asante-Mampong the administrative capital of Mampong - Municipal, Ghana with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Geo-accumulation index (I geo ) by Muller was employed to determine the extent of contamination. SAWS was uncontaminated with As (I geo = - 2.43), “moderately to heavily contaminated” with Pb (I geo = 2.79) and Cd (I geo = 2.26). MAWS was uncontaminated with Pb (I geo = 0.02), Cd (I geo = 0.69) and As (I geo = - 1.38). AAWS was “moderately to heavily contaminated” with Pb (I geo =2.84) and Cd (I geo = 1.18) but uncontaminated with As (I geo = -1.38). Lead, Cd and As levels in the medicinal plants from sampled sites were related to the ranges of hazardous metals in plants and critical plants concentrations (µgg -1 ) by Radojevic & Bashan. Lead: 0.2 µgg -1 < SAWS (2.48 – 20.88) µgg -1 (90% of medicinal plants),