The accumulation of heavy metals of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Sb in soil and plant samples in Air Force shooting range were evaluated using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and values obtained were compared with WHO standards. The values of Cu (41.04±0.11, Zn 41±0.14, Sb (9.12±0.11 mg/kg) were within limits of WHO while that of Pb (495.75±0.10 mg/kg) was above WHO standards limits of soils. The results showed that the total metal concentrations of heavy metals in the soils’ sample have the sequence Pb>Zn>Cu>Sb while in plant samples the trend is Pb>Sb>Zn>Zn>Cu. S. acuta accumulated Pb and Cu more in the leaves (120.66±0.15 and 125.36±0.12 mg/kg) respectively while U.lobata accumulated Pb and Cu more in the leaves (120.87±0.12 and 125.37±0.12 mg/kg) respectively than in the roots. The plants (S. acuta, Amorphophyllus sp,and U. lobata) have translocation factor (TF) greater than one (˃1) for Zn and Sb. This indicates that the soil in the shooting range is contaminated with Pb and all the plants studied have the phytoremediation potential for Sb and Zn in soil.

Full text: IJAIR_1671_Final.pdf