Contamination levels at auto mechanic shops in Ghana

This study investigated the concentrations of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and five selected heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn and Cu) in water and soil at some selected auto-mechanic shops within the Accra Metropolis. In all 105 samples were collected between December 2015 and February 2016 from eighteen (18) selected auto-mechanic workshops, three (3) hand dug wells and six (6) control sites. The samples were extracted and analyzed for PAHs (of naphthalene, acenaphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzo (a) anthracene, chrysene, benzo (b) flouranthene, benzo (k) fluoranthene, benzo (a) pyrene, indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene, dibenzo (a,h) anthracene, benzo (g,h,i) perylene) and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn and Cu) using the Gas chromatography equipped with combiPal autosampler and Ni electron capture detector (ECD) and the Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) respectively. Some physicochemical properties of soil and water were also determined to evaluate the quality of soils and drinking water.