Evaluation of Arsenic and Lead Soil Contamination by Wooden Electric and Telephone Poles in Two Urban Cities

Arsenic and lead have been reported to have toxic effect on human and animal health. Wooden electric and telephone poles have been known to be treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) in an effort to preserve them from decay, termites, insects, and rot. Thus, those who work or live on or near lead and arsenic-containing soil or ingest products contaminated by these two heavy metals are at risk of serious health dangers. Thus, the project reported here investigates whether wooden telephone and electric poles contribute to arsenic and lead soil contamination in two urban cities:- New Orleans in Louisiana, USA and Owerri in Imo State, Nigeria. Three wards or neighborhoods were selected in each city for the study and three streets were selected from each ward. Three samples were obtained from each street. Soil samples were collected from Owerri Girls Secondary School (OG) in Owerri and at Dillard University in New Orleans where the utility poles were made of concrete rather than wood. The soil samples were dried, sieved, and analyzed for arsenic and lead. The data suggest that the 4.8 mg/Kg mean arsenic level found in New Orleans soil samples is thirteen times higher than the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Region VI RECAP level of 0.36 mg/Kg and ten times higher than Federal Environmental Protection Agency of Nigeria (FEPAN) permissible level (0.5 mg/Kg) in soil while the mean lead level of 156 mg/Kg is below the USEPA RECAP level of 400 mg/Kg but more than 3000 times above FEPAN permissible level of 0.05 mg/Kg. The data for the samples from Owerri, Nigeria had arsenic levels below method detection limit but showed a 2.3 mg/Kg mean lead level which is well below the USEPA 400 mg/Kg recap level but forty six times above FEPAN permissible level of 0.05 mg/Kg.