Investigation of Pollution Level of Traces Metals Elements in Agricultural Soil of Oubritenga Province of Burkina Faso

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the pollution level of trace metals As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se and Zn in agricultural soil around the water reservoir. A total of 36 soil samples were collected both during off-season agriculture and pluvial agriculture from April to October 2022. The samples were analyzed for trace metals according to the standard methods of the US EPA 2007 with a microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer (MP-AES), Agilent Model 4210. The pollution level was assessed using contamination factor (Cf) and modified contamination degree (mCd). During the off-season, the concentration of trace metals followed in descending order as Mn > Cr > Cu > Pb > Zn. As, Cd, Co, Hg, Ni, Sb and Se were below the detectable limits. In pluvial season, the concentration of traces of metal follows the order Mn > Cr > Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Hg > As. Cd, Co, Sb and Se remain below the detectable limits. The concentrations of Cr, Mn and Zn were lower in the off-season agriculture than in pluvial agriculture. For Cu and Pb, the concentrations were higher in the off-season than in pluvial agriculture. The Cf ranges from 0.24 to 11.70 depending on the considered trace metal. The Cf values of As, Ni, Pb, Zn and Mn indicated that the agricultural study soil was lowery contaminated by these trace metals. The agricultural study soil was moderately contaminated by Cr and Cu, and highly contaminated by Hg. Globally the agricultural study soil presents a moderate degree of contamination (mCd 2.25) by the eight trace metals studied. This result provides information on understanding the risks of trace metal contamination of agricultural soil. It is important to anticipate the control of soil contamination through regular monitoring of toxic metals in agricultural soils, control the quality of chemicals used in agriculture and regulate their use.