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ABSTRACT
In consideration to the growing number and careless siting of mechanic workshops and the subsequent environmental degradation brought on by their operations in recent years calls for concerns about environmental pollution by heavy metals on groundwater sources, particularly in urban areas. Uwelu in Benin city is host to numerous automobile workshops, a large spare part market and car dismantling site that have been in operation for more than three decades. This study aimed to assess potential contaminants containing heavy metals of three groundwater samples carefully selected from two locations of mechanic activities and a control point located about 1km away from the impact area. The concentration of Heavy metal and physicochemical parameters in the various samples were analyzed in the laboratory using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and standard laboratory method respectively and the result compared to WHO guidelines. Findings from the analysis revealed that the levels of Fe, Mn, Pb and Cd were significantly higher than the WHO standard for drinking water with the exception of Zn, Cu, Cr and Ni. This suggest that the groundwater was highly contaminated by heavy metal leachates from the automobile workshops. Heavy metal concentration from the sampling location in comparison to the Control point were considerably higher. The results of all physicochemical parameters showed no amount of contamination to the groundwater except for the pH, which indicates that the water is slightly acidic at the location of mechanic activities. This study revealed that auto mechanic workshops activities greatly impact the groundwater and pose a serious health and environmental problem. It is recommended that the water should undergo some effective and economic treatment before being used for drinking.
