| Summary: | Soils constitute an important location for the transfer and retention of pollutants in the environment. The contents of pollutants in soils are increasing due to geo-natural and anthropogenic factors. This study sought to highlights the emergence, levels, distribution, trends, and possible health implications associated with two potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (vanadium and strontium) which are now gaining attention in pedological studies in Ghana. The study discussed concentrations of Sr reaching 951 mg/kg and 954 mg/kg, and 665 mg/kg in northeastern and southeastern Ghana respectively. These were well above the average crustal average for Sr (375 mg/kg). The average concentration of V in the northeastern part of Ghana increased from 72 mg/kg to 78 mg/kg from 2012 to 2017. In southeastern Ghana, V results ranged between 71 mg/kg and 375 mg/kg which indicates that 65% of the samples exceeded the average crustal value of 135 mg/kg. In southern Ghana, positive correlations between Sr and V with PTEs and elements with systematic toxicity; Sr, Zn and Zr (R2 = 0.0448 and R2 = 0.1944), Pb and V (R2 = 0.9201). In southwestern Ghana, results of V and Sr respectively ranged from 0–622 mg/kg and 0–556 mg/kg with 67% and 53% of the soil samples exceeding average crustal values. This suggests that other areas of Ghana may harbor similar elevated concentrations of V and Sr, and these may be posing hidden environmental and health impacts.
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