ABSTRACT
An increase in industrialization, urbanization, and the rising demand for food and other essentials for human sustainability leads to a rise in the amount of waste being generated daily by individuals, communities, and nations. In Abia State, particularly at the central entrance into the city of Umuahia, generated waste is thrown into open dump sites, causing a severe impact on soil, surface and ground water qualities. As a result, it has become a probable source of human health risk. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing the effect of solid waste dump sites on surrounding soil and water qualities in Umuwaya Road, Umuahia, Abia State Nigeria. Three soil samples and three borehole water samples were collected and analyzed at different points for the groundwater quality and soil auger for the varying depths of 0-15cm, 15-30cm, 30-45cm respectively labelled A, B, C and point D served as the control which was collected 1000m away from the dumpsite. Heavy metals from soil and borehole water were measured by using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy according to the method of APHA 1995. The physicochemical properties of the soil and water samples were also determined following standards. The data was analyzed using the descriptive SPSS statistical package. The concentration of heavy metals in soil samples revealed copper (0.01±0.00–0.26±0.07), cadmium (0.00±0.00–0.18±0.01), lead (0.03±0.01–0.40±0.03), iron (0.06±0.01–0.58± 0.02) and zinc (0.02±0.01–0.20± 0.04). All the water parameters and heavy metals screened in the samples were within the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigeria Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) permissible limits, respectively. More so, it was observed from the result, that the concentration of the metals increased with places closer to the dump especially during the dry season and were largely at a reduced level with soil samples from the control site as well as the physical properties of water showed that the ground water had more aggregate of sand, followed by clay and then silt respectively. It is recommended that indiscriminate waste disposal should be prohibited completely in the capital city. Waste reduction, Recycling, Re-use and Sorting of all waste types should be promoted by the citizens of the state for a sustainable future.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title
page
i
Declaration
ii
Certification
iii
Dedication
iv
Acknowledgments v
Table of
Contents
vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures
x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of Research Problem 8
1.3 Objectives
of the Study 9
1.4 Justification
and Significance of the Study 10
CHAPTER 2:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Waste and
Types of Waste 11
2.1.1 Solid waste 11
2.1.2 Classification
of solid waste 12
2.2 Landfill
and Groundwater Pollution 14
2.3 Waste
Generation from Dumpsites and Method of Municipal Solid
Waste Disposal 16
2.3.1 Waste
generation 16
2.3.2 Method of
municipal solid waste disposal 17
2.4 Heavy
Metal Toxicity from Waste Dumpsite 20
2.5 Heavy
Metal Contamination of Water 23
2.6 Heavy
Metals Contamination in Soil and Sediment 24
2.7 Major
Toxicity Effects of Heavy Metals 25
2.8 Solid
Waste Management in Public Health 26
2.9 Empirical
Framework 31
2.10 Research
Gap 34
CHAPTER
3: MATERIALS AND METHOD
3.1 The
Study Area 35
3.2 Sample
Collection 37
3.3 Determination
of Soil Physico-Chemical Parameters 38
3.3.1 Determination
of soil pH 38
3.3.2 Determination
of electrical conductivity of the soil 38
3.3.3 Determination of the soil organic carbon
contents 39
3.3.4 Determination
of the moisture content of the soil 39
3.3.5 Determination
of the organic matter content of the soil 40
3.3.6 Determination of the soil particle sizes 40
3.3.7 Determination of the total nitrogen contents
of the soil 41
3.3.8 Determination of the organic carbon contents
of the soil 42
3.3.9 Determination of the available phosphorus 42
3.3.10 Determination of the soil exchangeable bases 43
3.3.11 Determination of the exchangeable acidity 43
3.3.12 Determination of the effective cation
exchangeable capacity (ECEC)
of the soil 43
3.3.13 Determination
of the heavy metal concentrations in the soil 43
3.4 Methods
for the Analysis of the Ground Water Quality 45
3.4.1 Determination
of the pH 45
3.4.2 Determination
of the electrical conductivity 45
3.4.3 Determination
of the turbidity 45
3.4.4 Determination
of the total solid 46
3.4.5 Determination
of the suspended solid 46
3.4.6 Determination
of the dissolved oxygen 47
3.4.7 Determination
of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) 48
3.4.8 Determination
of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) 48
3.4.9 Determination of the total
alkalinity 49
3.4.10 Determination of the total hardness 50
3.4.11 Determination
of calcium 51
3.4.12 Determination
of phosphate 52
3.4.13 Determination
of magnesium 53
3.4.14 Determination of the heavy metal concentrations
of the ground water 53
3.5 Data Statistics
and Presentation 54
CHAPTER
4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results 55
4.2 Discussions 69
4.2.1 Physical
properties of soil 69
4.2.2 Chemical
properties of soil 70
4.2.3 Heavy
metals 72
4.2.4 Water
analysis 73
4.2.5 Heavy
metal of water 75
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusions
77
5.2 Recommendations 78
5.3 Areas
for Further Studies 78
5.4 Contribution
to Knowledge 78
REFERENCES 80
APPENDIX 93
LIST OF TABLES
3.1:
Various sample locations
and their coordinates 38
4.1: Evaluation of soil physical
properties in soil from waste dumps
around Umuwaya Road Umuahia 55
4.2: Mean±SD of soil chemical properties in soil from
waste dump
sites around Umuwaya Road Umuahia 57
4.3: Mean±SD of soil nutrient properties in soil from
waste dumps
around Umuwaya Road Umuahia 59
4.4: Mean±SD of heavy metal properties in soil from
waste dumps
around Umuwaya Road Umuahia 61
4.5: Mean±SD of physiochemical properties in borehole
water around
Umuwaya Road Umuahia 63
LIST OF FIGURES
1: Map
of the study area 36
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
The amount and
variety of waste materials have increased with technological advancement,
growing human population and industrial processes. The disposal of domestic,
commercial and industrial garbage in the world is a problem that continues to
grow with human civilization (Abdus-Salam, 2009). Thus; the growing rate of industrialization in Nigeria is
gradually leading to contamination and deterioration of the environment these
industrial development have been found to have resulted in environmental
pollution and the greater volume of industrial chemical discharges has added to
the growing pack of untreated domestic waste which contains heavy metals
(Ogundele et al., 2013) which
accumulates in the environment. Over time, the management of loads of these
wastes in the environment have become an issue of global concerned.Improper
municipal solid waste disposal and management causes all types of pollution:
air, soil, and water (Pervez and
Kafeel, 2013). Uncontrolled burning of municipal solid waste and
improper incineration contributes significantly to urban pollution as well as
associated greenhouse gases that are generated from the decomposition of
organic wastes in landfills, and untreated waste which pollutes surrounding
soil and water bodies. (Pervez and
Kafeel, 2013).
Solid waste means any garbage, refuse, sludge
from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air
pollution control facility and other discarded materials including solid,
liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material, resulting from industrial,
commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities (Sohail and Yaser, 2015 ).
Indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes have
contributed to environmental problems in variety of ways; municipal refuse
dumps are important feeding sites for pestiferous species especially birds,
rats, and stray animals; thereby contributing greatly to their sustenance and
multiplication (Bellebaum, 2005). Another problem of these waste dumps is air
pollution which sometimes results in temporary restrictions on movement of
people and consequent slowing of economic activities in urban areas (Elaigwu et al., 2007). Perhaps of greater and
longer term impact are the substances deposited on the soil that adversely
impact the flora and fauna. Heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead,
chromium, nickel, cobalt and mercury are of concern primarily because of their
potential to harm soil organisms, plants, animals and human beings (Adelekan
and Alawode, 2011). In addition to affecting plant and animal health, heavy
metals contained in municipal solid wastes may be leached from the soil and
enter either surface water or groundwater thereby affecting water quality
(Woodbury, 2005).
The standards of
waste management is still poor and outdated in many developing countries, with
poor documentation of waste generation rates and its composition, inefficient
storage and collection systems, disposal of municipal wastes with toxic and
hazardous waste, indiscriminate disposal or dumping of wastes and inefficient
utilization of disposal site space. Proper treatment of the waste has therefore
been a challenging task in most developing countries (Neczaj et al., 2005). Most cities spend 20-50 %
of their annual budget on solid waste management and only 20-80% of the waste
is collected (Achankeng, 2003).
Solid wastes are
sources of environmental pollution through introduction of chemical substances
above their threshold limits into the environment. Most forms of waste disposal
have side effect on the environment, public health, and local economies (Pacyna
and Pacyna, 2002). The discarding of domestic, commercial and industrial garbage
which may contain heavy metals such as Pb, Cu, Cd, Hg, Mn, Zn from batteries,
insecticides, nail polish cleaners, polyvinyl chloride made containers,
pesticides and other various products is a predicament that continues to grow
with human development.
The direct use of
dumpsites for cultivating vegetables and the on-farm use of compost sourced
from the dumpsites is a common practice in urban and suburban centers in
Nigeria (Ogunyemi et al., 2003;
Amusan et al., 2005). This practice
is potentially harmful to the health and well being of the populace. When
agricultural soils are polluted, these heavy metals are taken up by plants and
consequently accumulate in their tissues (Trueby, 2003). Heavy metals enter the
body system when these plants are directly or indirectly consumed, and also
through air and water and may bioaccumulate over a period of time (Lenntech,
2004; UNEP/GPA, 2004). Soil is one of the repositories for anthropogenic
wastes, One specific threat resulting from inadequate solid wastes disposal is
the contamination by heavy metals that have significant toxic potential for the
environment (soil, water and air), human’s beings and the exposed biodiversity
(Tankari et al., 2013). Toxicity sets in when the heavy metal
content in the soil exceeds natural background level (Alloway and Ayres, 1997). This may cause ecological
destruction and deterioration of environmental quality. Soils are able to
biodegrade almost all organic compounds found in waste, converting them into
harmless substances, since inorganic products such as heavy metals are
non-biodegradable, thus they persist and accumulate in the soil (Nkop et
al., 2016). The continuing increase in population and the rapid
increase of industrial processes particularly in major cities have led to the emergence
of development that have greater impact on human and the environment (Ogundele et al., 2013). Population explosion and
urbanization have increased the quantities and types of solid wastes produced
(Ogbonna, 2007). Municipal solid waste usually contains paper, food waste,
metal scraps, glass, ceramics, and ashes. Decomposition or oxidation process
releases the heavy metal contained in these wastes to the soil of the waste
dumpsite thereby contaminating the soil (Ukpong et al., 2013).
Heavy metals can
accumulate and persist in soils at environmental hazardous levels to crops and
human health (Alloway and Ayres, 1997).
Exposure to heavy metals may cause blood, bone disorders, kidney damage,
decreased mental capacity and neurological damage (Asuquo et al., 2014; Awokunmi et
al., 2010). Heavy metal toxicity can result in damaged or reduced mental
and central nervous function, lower energy levels, and damage to blood
composition, lungs, kidneys, liver, and other vital organs (Nkop et
al., 2016).
Biochemical processes can mobilize the
chemical substances contained in it to pollute water supplies and impact food
chains. Heavy metal contamination in the soils is a major concern because of
their toxicity and threat to human life and the environment. Landfills have
been identified as one of the major threats to groundwater resources (USEPA,
1984; Fatta et al., 1999). Waste
placed in landfills or open dumps are subjected to either groundwater underflow
or infiltration from precipitation. Physical, chemical, and biological
processes interact simultaneously to bring about the overall decomposition of
the wastes. One of the byproducts of all these mechanisms is chemically laden waste.
Water is essential for life. Water covers majority of earth’s surface a
very small percentage is available as fresh water that human can use.
Groundwater is one of water resources. As Ground water provides drinking water
to the people and it contains over 90% of the fresh water resources, the
quality of ground water is of paramount importance. In recent years the risk of
groundwater pollution has become one of the most important environmental
concerns, particularly in developing countries, where most of the landfills
have been built without any sound engineering design such as engineered liners
and waste interception and collection system. Unless properly treated, waste
that seeps from a landfill can infiltrate and contaminate the underlying
groundwater (Kurniawan, 2011).
Despite different possibilities of municipal waste treatment, including
recycling, composting and incineration, municipal landfills are still a common
way of waste disposal in many regions of the world. Data from 2013 show that in
14 countries of the European Union, the share of landfilling is over 50 % and
in 6 of these countries even over 75 % (Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta,
Romania) (Eurostat, 2015). In USA, about 135 million tons of solid waste (53.8
%) were discarded in landfills in 2012 (USEPA, 2012). In most low to medium
income developing countries, almost 100 % of municipal solid waste generated
goes to landfills (Longe and Balogun, 2010).
Landfills pose serious threat to the quality of environment if they are
incorrectly secured and improperly operated. The scale of this threat depends
on the composition and quantity of waste, time of landfill exploitation,
distance of a landfill from a plant, soil and water environment, etc.
Groundwater contamination is a major concern in landfill operations because of
the pollution effect of landfill waste and its potential health risks (Bhalla et al., 2012). Therefore, the migration
of landfill waste into surface or groundwater is considered to be a serious
environmental problem at both uncontrolled and engineered municipal landfill
sites (Ettler et al., 2008). The
environmental impact of the landfill leakage on groundwater quality has been
noticed several times regardless of an ideal site selection and introduction of
geo-membrane layers. Municipal landfill waste is highly concentrated complex
effluents, which contain dissolved organic matter, inorganic compounds, heavy
metals and xenobiotic organic substances (Christensen et al., 2001). Therefore, evaluation of a potential risk associated
with groundwater contamination due to landfills is of great importance. To
evaluate the groundwater contamination, WHO standards for drinking water are
usually used (Longe and Balogun 2010; Vasanthavigar et al., 2010; Gibrilla et
al., 2011). However, they are not always adequate for potentially strongly
contaminated groundwater in the vicinity of a landfill. Besides, a large number
of separate parameters do not easily provide a general view of the level of
groundwater contamination (Backman et
al., 1998). Several researchers have proposed different methods and indices
for evaluation of groundwater quality data (Alobaidy et al., 2010; Gibrilla et
al., 2011). The most popular is Horton’s water quality index (WQI), which
is defined as a rating, reflecting the composite influence of different water
quality parameters (Shivasharanappa et
al., 2011).
Threats to the groundwater from the unlined and uncontrolled landfills
exist in many parts of the world, particularly in the under-developed and
developing countries where the hazardous industrial waste is also co- disposed
with municipal waste and no provision of separate secured hazardous landfills
exists. Even if there are no hazardous wastes placed in municipal landfills,
the waste is still reported as a significant threat to groundwater (Kumar and
Alappat, 2005).
Open dumping of solid waste remain the
prevailing form of waste disposal in developing countries like Nigeria. Contamination
of water bodies has become an issue of serious environmental concern (Akpoveta et al, 2010). Since urban population is increasing due to
various factors like better employment opportunities, and concentration of
industries than the rural areas. Municipal solid waste management gets the
lowest priority, mainly because disruptions and deficiencies in it do not
directly and immediately affect public life and cause public reaction (Rao and
Shantaram, 2003). Lack of proper municipal bodies to manage the solid waste
generated from residential, commercial and institutional activities, therefore
the populace decided to dump their solid waste in any available space within
the community, by so doing it get accumulated with time.
Therefore, supply of adequate fresh water in
large quantity to meet the increasing population’s demand and maintaining the
quality is now a thing of concern (Elinge et
al, 2011). Hence contamination of ground water through the infiltration of waste
via the soil and rocks needs to be avoided. It normally takes many years and
takes place within a particular distance from the dump site. With these
problems there is need for another source of water supplies which is ground
water, but due to lack of proper waste management the groundwater is usually
affected by the refuse dump site. Water is said to be polluted when the water
body is adversely affected by both the organic and inorganic contaminants
(Oliver and Ismaila, 2011).
Understanding the elements of pollution
formation and the effects pollutants have on our environment is helpful. Note
that the materials in the dump determine what pollutants will move, or leach,
as well as the extent of contamination of groundwater. The age of the dump
along with physical, chemical, and biological conditions inside determine the
extent and rate of degradation of materials and the release of pollutants.
Important factors include temperature, the presence of oxygen, pH, the presence
of bacteria, precipitation, mobility, and leachability of contaminants (Adelekan,
2010).
The commonly
practiced waste management option in Nigeria, basically involves the collection
of mixed waste materials and subsequent dumping at designated dumpsites. It is
not a practice to separate waste materials at source or any point during its
management (Adekunle et al., 2011). Many approaches have been used to
assess the contamination of underground water. It can be assessed either by the
experimental determination of the impurities or their estimation through
mathematical modeling (Butwa et al.,
1989; Stoline et al., 1993; Hudak,
1998; Moo-Young et al., 2004). Solid
waste dumped along roadsides are usually left over a long time to decompose
naturally by micro-organisms, eaten by animals, picked by scavengers or washed
away by the floods into the larger creek and rivers thus affecting the surface
water quality of contamination and are stored faster than they are excreted
(Ogbonna et al., 2007; Zheng et al., 2007; Adepoju-Bello et al., 2012).
1.2 STATEMENT
OF PROBLEM
The impacts of solid
waste on health and environment has been an issue of global concern over the
years (Barloz et al., 2003; Kouznetsova
et al., 2007; Goorah et al., 2009). The rapid growing waste
generation rates and high cost of waste disposal, depletion of landfill space
and the problem of obtaining new disposal sites resulting in open dumping are
unresolved issues (Kadafa et al.,
2013). Improper waste handling and management pose great threats to the
environment and public health (Kadafa et
al., 2013). This is prominent in developing countries such as Nigeria.
Indiscriminate dumping of solid waste and poor solid waste management within
Umuahia municipal has been one of the issues that hinders development of the
town. Umuwaya road waste dump site
contain varieties of municipal solid wastes in addition to the associated heavy
metals, and thus serve as a breeding site for most insects and rodents. The
decomposition of the organic waste in the waste dump site pose serious
environmental challenge to the populace. Soil from dumpsites have been
found to contains high concentrations of organic matter, heavy metals,
nutrients and pathogens, which if not properly collected and treated can cause
serious pollution of surface and groundwater sources (Chadetrik and Arabinda, 2010). Furthermore, the presence of heavy metals at
high concentrations in waste dump leachate have been found to induce toxic
effects to microbes, making it difficult to treat biologically (Sawaittayothin
and Polprasert, 2007). The environmental problem associated with heavy metals
is that they are unaffected during degradation of organic waste and have toxic
effects on living organisms when exceeding a certain concentration Aurangabadkar
et al. (2001). Furthermore, when the
compost from municipal solid waste is used as manure some heavy metals are
being subjected to bioaccumulation and may cause risk to human health by
ingestion of victuals contaminated with heavy metals (Esakku et al., 2003). It is against this background that this study
is set to investigate “The Effects of Solid Waste Dump on Soil and
Ground Water Quality within Umuwaya (Isi-Gate Road Axis) Umuahia, Abia State”.
1.3 OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
The general objective
of this study is to determine the effect of solid waste dump on soil and ground
water quality dynamics in Umuwaya, Isi-gate, Umuahia, Abia State.
The specific
objectives of the study are as follows, to:
i) Determine the physiochemical and nutrient
compositions of the soil of Umuwaya road solid waste dumpsite,
ii)
Determine the heavy metal concentrations such as Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu),
Lead (Pd), Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) in the soil of Umuwaya road solid waste dumpsite,
iii) Determine the physiochemical compositions of
the borehole water within Umuwaya road solid waste dumpsite and
iv)
Determine the heavy metal compositions of the borehole water within
Umuwaya road solid waste dump site.
1.4 JUSTIFICATIONS
OF THE STUDY
This study is
necessary because it will indicate the impact of waste dumps on the soil and
water quality within Umuwaya road, this will in turn enhance the knowledge of
the people on the effects of waste on soil matrix as well as the sources of
pollutants and their possible health implications on human beings,
demonstrating the severity of risks associated with municipal waste dumps in an
environment.
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