Distribution and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils and Vegetables from Gongulong and Zabarmari Agricultural Areas Borno State Nigeria

Distribution and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils and Vegetables from Gongulong and Zabarmari Agricultural Areas Borno State Nigeria | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Distribution and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils and Vegetables from Gongulong and Zabarmari Agricultural Areas Borno State Nigeria Aisha Abubakar, Zakari Mohammed, Haruna B. Wayar, Ayuba J. Maina, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9272072/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study assessed the concentration, distribution, and risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils and selected vegetables from Gongulong and Zabarmari Agricultural Areas in Jere Local Government Area, Borno State, Nigeria. Soil samples were collected at depths of 0–5, 5–10, and 10–15 cm, while onion, cabbage, tomato, sweet pepper, and hot pepper were analyzed using GC-MS. Low molecular weight PAHs were not detected, whereas high molecular weight PAHs predominated. In Gongulong soils, the highest concentration was 8.83 × 10⁻¹ mg/kg (benzo(b)fluoranthene, 10–15 cm) and the lowest was 1.26 × 10⁻² mg/kg (benzo(a)pyrene). In Zabarmari, the highest value was 5.75 × 10⁻¹ mg/kg (benzo(b)fluoranthene, 0–5 cm) and the lowest was 1.96 × 10⁻² mg/kg (indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene). In vegetables, the highest concentration in Gongulong was 6.68 × 10⁻¹ mg/kg (benzo(a)pyrene in cabbage) and the lowest was 2.70 × 10⁻³ mg/kg. In Zabarmari, pyrene reached 1.80 × 10⁻¹ mg/kg (cabbage), while chrysene showed the lowest value of 3.00 × 10⁻³ mg/kg. BaP-TEQ values ranged from 1.80 × 10⁻¹ to 7.44 × 10⁻¹ mg/kg in soils and 4.13 × 10⁻² to 7.54 × 10⁻¹ mg/kg in vegetables. Ecological risk (M-ERM-Q) values indicated low to moderate risk. Diagnostic ratios (BaA/BaA + Chr) suggested predominantly pyrogenic sources. The findings indicate significant accumulation of carcinogenic PAHs, especially benzo(a)pyrene, posing potential ecological and human health risks and highlighting the need for continuous monitoring and improved environmental management. PAHs GS-MS Benzo(a)pyrene Agricultural Nigeria Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 17 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 29 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9272072","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":633287559,"identity":"b5125718-1994-42ca-9937-5d7265945306","order_by":0,"name":"Aisha Abubakar","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"University of Maiduguri","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aisha","middleName":"","lastName":"Abubakar","suffix":""},{"id":633287560,"identity":"baf8eb7c-b967-4eac-b69c-0d99efb0638d","order_by":1,"name":"Zakari Mohammed","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Maiduguri","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zakari","middleName":"","lastName":"Mohammed","suffix":""},{"id":633287561,"identity":"e20c1307-b554-4593-970d-d1de19b08280","order_by":2,"name":"Haruna B. 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Soil samples were collected at depths of 0\u0026ndash;5, 5\u0026ndash;10, and 10\u0026ndash;15 cm, while onion, cabbage, tomato, sweet pepper, and hot pepper were analyzed using GC-MS. Low molecular weight PAHs were not detected, whereas high molecular weight PAHs predominated. In Gongulong soils, the highest concentration was 8.83 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; mg/kg (benzo(b)fluoranthene, 10\u0026ndash;15 cm) and the lowest was 1.26 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; mg/kg (benzo(a)pyrene). In Zabarmari, the highest value was 5.75 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; mg/kg (benzo(b)fluoranthene, 0\u0026ndash;5 cm) and the lowest was 1.96 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; mg/kg (indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene). In vegetables, the highest concentration in Gongulong was 6.68 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; mg/kg (benzo(a)pyrene in cabbage) and the lowest was 2.70 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup3; mg/kg. In Zabarmari, pyrene reached 1.80 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; mg/kg (cabbage), while chrysene showed the lowest value of 3.00 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup3; mg/kg. BaP-TEQ values ranged from 1.80 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; to 7.44 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; mg/kg in soils and 4.13 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup2; to 7.54 \u0026times; 10⁻\u0026sup1; mg/kg in vegetables. Ecological risk (M-ERM-Q) values indicated low to moderate risk. Diagnostic ratios (BaA/BaA\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Chr) suggested predominantly pyrogenic sources. The findings indicate significant accumulation of carcinogenic PAHs, especially benzo(a)pyrene, posing potential ecological and human health risks and highlighting the need for continuous monitoring and improved environmental management.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Distribution and Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Soils and Vegetables from Gongulong and Zabarmari Agricultural Areas Borno State Nigeria","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-08 12:31:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9272072/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-17T19:54:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"99712023080308241340807276612458708479","date":"2026-05-13T06:53:10+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"138845487913044163300339150150766812928","date":"2026-05-02T09:36:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T11:17:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"47503289586200676818859759409708205022","date":"2026-04-29T11:12:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T10:12:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-20T13:13:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-19T05:18:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Chemistry","date":"2026-04-19T05:12:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-chemistry","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Chemistry](https://link.springer.com/journal/44371)","snPcode":"44371","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44371/3","title":"Discover Chemistry","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a6401a6a-4ee7-478e-bfcf-c8617d222616","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 8th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-17T19:54:43+00:00","index":53,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"99712023080308241340807276612458708479","date":"2026-05-13T06:53:10+00:00","index":50,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"138845487913044163300339150150766812928","date":"2026-05-02T09:36:35+00:00","index":38,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-08T12:31:28+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-08 12:31:28","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9272072","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9272072","identity":"rs-9272072","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}