Assessment of the health risks of some potentially toxic elements’ (PTEs) intake via soil particles from a grassless sports facility in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

The concentrations of some PTEs in soils from a grassless sports facility in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, were assessed to predict the health risks that may be associated with their intake as particles through inhalation and dermal absorption. The pitch was partitioned, numbered, and surface soil samples were collected randomly from plots with numbers divisible by 3 using a hand trowel. The samples were put in sterile polyethene bags, labelled and taken to the laboratory for analysis using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) following standard procedures. Among the six PTEs assessed from the twenty-three samples collected, mean concentrations of cadmium (Cd) (79.83 mg/g) and zinc (Zn) (0.02 mg/g) were highest and lowest, respectively. On the contrary, the geo-accumulation index (Igeo) of Zn (3.33) was highest. The hazard quotients via inhalation were less than one except for Chromium (Cr) (2.45) and Cd (43.6) on dermal absorption. Meanwhile, the estimated hazard index (HI) of the metals was higher (46.1) via dermal absorption compared to that of inhalation (0.000139), while the pollution load index calculated was 1.47, indicating low contamination. The study revealed low to moderate PTEs contamination at the site; hence, prolonged exposure could pose a health risk to humans.