Analysis of cadmium (Cd) and iron (Fe) heavy metal content in the river around Putri Cempo landfill, Surakarta

Abstract Data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry’s National Waste Management Information System (SIPSN) shows that by 2023, 33.18% or equivalent to 6.5 million tonnes of waste in Indonesia will still accumulate without adequate handling. The continuous accumulation of waste in landfills will produce pollutants in the form of leachate that can pollute groundwater and rivers. Leachate can result in the presence of heavy metals in water, including heavy metals cadmium (Cd) and iron (Fe). This condition is a threat to the ecosystem in river waters and can indirectly have an impact on human health. This study aims to determine the content of heavy metals cadmium (Cd) and iron (Fe) in the river around the Putri Cempo landfill in Surakarta City, Central Java. The sampling point is at coordinates 7°32′14.4 ‘S 110°51′30.0 ’E, then testing for heavy metal content using the Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) method. The results showed that the cadmium (Cd) content in the river water was relatively low at -0.0274876 mg/L. This is caused by several factors, namely the nature of Cd which is not easily soluble in water so that it easily settles into sediment, the dilution of river water by rain, and the river is far from the industrial area. In contrast to Cd, iron (Fe) levels in river water far exceed the safe limit of 7.98940397 mg/L. This indicates that the river water in the area has been heavily polluted by heavy metal iron (Fe). The high levels of iron (Fe) are caused by the disposal of iron-containing domestic waste, the presence of iron water reservoirs in the Putri Cempo landfill, and corrosion of water pipes that contain iron (Fe).