"Evaluation of Toxic Elements in the Agricultural Soils of the Mbalmayo City (Centre-Cameroon)"

Abstract

Mbalmayo is a medium city in Cameroon facing several problems including urban waste management. These wastes are sometimes incorporated into the urban soil due to a deficient collection system. The purpose of this study was to assess the concentrations of Trace Metals (TMEs) in soils intensively used for agriculture. Soil samples from three sites were analyzed for environmental physical chemistry and by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP/MS). Some indices, including the enrichment factor (EF), the Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo) and the Pollution Index (PI) were calculated to reflect the intensity of the contamination risk. The results for Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Lead (Pb) and Zinc) Zn concentrations showed values of 0.