Toxic Levels of Lead in Milk of Lactating Cows in Dareta Village Zamfara State

Dareta village in Zamfara State, Nigeria is one of the worst affected by lead poisoning in the 2010 crisis in the State. This paper focuses on assessing the levels of heavy metals especially lead in milk of cattle grazing in this area after the post remediation exercise. Fresh milk was collected from lactating cows from different herds. The samples were digested and analyzed for presence of selected heavy metals using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy method. Lead and Cadmium were detected in all samples analyzed with values ranging from 0.095±0.005-0.309±0.009mg/L and 0.012±0.001-0.017±0.004mg/L respectively. Values of the essential elements zinc, copper and iron fell within permissible limits in milk. In conclusion the high concentrations of lead and cadium in milk samples analyzed indicate persistence of contaminating levels of Pb in the surrounding environment which constitute long term health risks to the local community.