Effects of Cement Dust Emitted by Dangote Cement Factory on Some Chemical Properties of Soils of Тse-Kucha, Benue State, Nigeria

Some chemical properties of soils were assessed to determine the effects of cement dust emitted by the Dangote Cement Factory on the soils of Tse-kucha community within which the factory is situated. A soil profile pit was dug at Tse-kucha and soil samples were collected from each horizon of the profile pit for laboratory analysis. For comparison, samples were also collected from another profile pit dug at Gaando, a nearby community to Tse-kucha where there are no cement dusts in soils. The samples were analyzed for their chemical properties. Laboratory determinations made include; pH, organic carbon, exchangeable bases; Ca, Mg, Na and K, exchangeable acidity, available phosphorous, total nitrogen, CEC and percentage base saturation. The results obtained from the laboratory analysis of soils from the two study sites were then compared. The result showed that, pH and organic carbon content were significantly higher in soils of the affected areas than those of the unaffected areas due to the continuous deposition of cement dusts on the surface and leaching into deeper horizons. Also exchangeable acidity available phosphorous were slightly higher in soils of the affected areas, the result also showed that, exchangeable potassium, magnesium, total exchangeable bases, and cation exchange capacity were slightly higher in the unaffected soils but there was no significant difference in terms of total nitrogen, exchangeable cation and sodium, and percentage base saturation. Generally, the research showed that there was no significant difference in chemical properties between soils of the two study sites. Thus presently, the cement dust from the factory do not significantly affect the chemical properties of soils of the study area within which the factory is situated as the dust deposits only led to a slight but insignificant change in a few chemical properties but the variation is not significantly enough to cause a serious adverse effect on crop production.