PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF SOME POLLUTANTS AFFECTING SOILS AND GROUNDWATER QUALITY LOCATED AROUND SELECTED DUMPSITES IN AKKO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA
The habit of locating domestic wastes disposal sites around water sources in Nigeria without recourse to the potential danger of pollution is worrisome. This study assessed the impact of solid wastes on soils and groundwater quality at selected dumpsites in Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. The characterization of four (4) most active dumpsites was conducted using Tchobanoglous procedure, while conventional pollutants and heavy metals concentrations were assessed using titrations and digestive procedure. Average food waste of 22.45% constituted the highest percentage of waste generated while plastic made up of 15.93%. Paper waste constituted 5.46%, ash/charcoal 9.86, batteries 3.8%, diapers 6.10, wood 5.5%, glass waste 3.9%. The compositions indicated that the communities are low income citizen who survive on daily basis food supply. Twenty (20) groundwater samples were collected from five different locations, ten (10) of the samples from well water while ten from boreholes. From the results, samples contained nitrates 12.9 mg/L, pH 5.9, Biological oxygen demand 132.8 mg/L were observed to fall within recommended limit of WHO except for phosphates 12.56 mg/L, dissolve oxygen 6.9 mg/L and chemical oxygen demand 403.5 mg/L which were higher than the recommended limit of WHO. Analysis of heavy metals for both water and soil samples reveals that no traces of Cadmium was found in all samples except for Hammadu Kafi 0.0085 mg/L, while Copper was not found in any of the samples collected, Manganese has the highest concentrations of 2.69 mg/kg for soils and 0.86 mg/L for water sample which were both higher than WHO 0.0 2 mg/L limits. Results from analysis of cadmium 0.009 mg/L and iron 0.9 mg/L indicated slight variation from the standard. It is therefore recommended that dumpsites should not be located close to water sources and water used for drinking should be treated before consumption.
Authors : Umaru, A.B., Inuwa, A.M., Bashir A.U. and Abba, A.H.
Category : Open Access Volume (Issue) : 8(1) Date Uploaded : 14th August 2022