Assessing Heavy Metal Contamination Impact in Maize Growing Along the Roadside

Abstract

Now a days heavy metal contamination along the roadside is a matter of concern especially in industrial areas of developing countries. The non-degradable nature of heavy metals makes them injurious to all living beings. Soil, dust, and plants are the main media for the entry of these metals into our food chain. Thereby, a survey was conducted to assess the nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) levels in roadside dust, soil and maize crop growing along the roadside. Moreover, the effects of these metals were also assessed on the growth and physiology of maize. Plant, soil, and dust sample were collected from Millat road Faisalabad. Samples were collected from four sites at three different distances (10m, 30m, 60m) from the road. Each site had a distance of 5 km from the other site. As result, metal concentration in soil, dust and maize decreased with increasing distance from the road. Maximum metal concentration in dust, soil and plant was noted at the distance of 10m (Cu 40.1, Mn 189.66 and Ni 5.6 mg kg-1 in soil; Cu 11.3, Mn 179.7 and Ni 9.37 mg kg-1 in dust; Cu 11.8, Mn 23.01 and Ni 3.75 mg kg-1 in plant) from the roadside. Likewise, maize plants near the roadside showed more metal concentration with retarded growth and physiology.