ASSESSMENT OF HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATION OF AEROSOL IN RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL AREAS AROUND PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the heavy metal concentration of aerosol and its perceived impact on the health of residents of Port Harcourt Metropolis. From the study area, six locations on the Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) in the atmospheric aerosol was sampled, two sample locations in each of High Density Residential (HDR), Moderate Density Residential (MDR), and Low Density Residential (LDR). Offline aerosol measurement was carried out for seven days (a week) during wet and dry seasons. 84 aerosol samples were collected and subjected to laboratory analysis for selected heavy metals. ANOVA, TTest, and ChiSquare analysis were used in the analysis of the data on the SPSS software. The findings indicated that there is no statistically significant variation in the concentration of the selected heavy metals across locations and the Days of the (DO) week. In the study area, there are variations in the concentration of Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), and Iron (Fe) in the TSPM across the seasons while there is no statistically significant seasonal variation in the concentration of Chromium (Cr) and Lead (Pb) in the study area. The distributions of every other metal in the TSP except Fe in all the sampled locations are the same. LDR and MDR are similar in relation to average concentration of Fe (ppm) while MDR and HDR are also similar belonging to the same group. In the study area as revealed by the findings further showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the perception of residents of health risk associated with TSP in the atmosphere. Conclusively, that aerosol concentration is not static but dynamic across Land use types. Hence, the study recommends the need for source identification and apportionment using receptor models in new studies.