Current World Environment

Consumption of foods and vegetables contaminated with heavy metals is a major cause of disease and debility. In this study carried out in 15 non-oil prospecting selected towns in Delta State, Nigeria covering the three (3) senatorial districts of the state, and five (5) towns from each of the senatorial districts, the lead content of Telfairia occidentalis was determined.The mean lead concentration of the locations were tabulated with P< 0.05 student t-test and F-distribution ANOVA at P< 0.05 and P< 0.01 and these showed a significant difference among the three (3) senatorial districts. The mean concentration of lead in each district are 4.660mg/kg for Delta South, 5.771mg/kg for Delta North and 4.305mg/kg for Delta central with none exceeding the approved standard limit of 100mg/kg of the World Health Organisation. It can therefore be hypothesized that Telfairia occidentalis cropped within Delta State, Nigeria, in non-oil prospecting locations is safe for human consumption with regard to lead levels.