ABSTRACT
The increasing rate of environmental pollution necessitates the proper and effective management of environmental health through the monitoring of water, soil, and animal species within the environment. This study investigated the distribution of heavy metal contamination, specifically Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn), in water, soil, and amphibian species across selected stations - Iguosa River, Oluku dumpsite, Life Sciences vicinity (University of Benin), and Ikpoba River. Heavy metals were analyzed using the Analyst 200 Perkin Elmer series of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in water samples from Iguosa River and Ikpoba River exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits. At Iguosa River, Fe was 0.52 mg/kg and Zn was 0.29 mg/kg, while at Ikpoba River, Fe was 0.63 mg/kg, and Zn was 0.31 mg/kg, both exceeding WHO permissible limits of 0.3 mg/kg and 0.2 mg/kg for Fe and Zn, respectively. The concentrations of Zn and Fe in soils from the stations were within the WHO allowable limits of 50 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg respectively, except for Oluku dumpsite which measured 689.14 mg/kg for Fe and 59.75 mg/kg for Zn, exceeding the permissible limits. The accumulation pattern was Iguosa River > Life sciences vicinity (University of Benin) > Oluku dumpsite > Ikpoba River for Fe and Zn in amphibians toe snip samples. Amphibian species from the Iguosa River showed elevated Fe levels, which was above WHO limit of 2.0 mg/kg, suggesting concerns about edible species' suitability for human consumption and the potential for heavy metal distribution through the food chain, with implications for public health.
