Presence and Levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) Gases Generated from Unmanned Dumpsites within Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality, Ghana

The study assessed the presence, concentrations and potential health implications of selected toxic gases NO2, SO2, H2S and CO) and their overall contribution to the quality of air surrounding unmanned dumpsites and the nearest residences within Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality using Crowcon Multi-gas detector.The results showed presence of the selected gases at varying concentrations at various locations.The highest NO2 (0.575 ppm) was observed at Effuanta-Tamso road followed by Nzemaline (0.2 ppm), UMaT (0.2 ppm) and Ahwiteaso (0.15 ppm) dumpsites.The SO2 concentrations was highest (1.0 ppm) at Effuanta-Tamso road followed by Nzemaline (0.8 ppm), Ahwiteaso (0.8 ppm) and UMaT (0.2 ppm) dumpsites.For H2S, the highest was at Nzemaline (22.0 ppm) followed by Ahwiteaso (14.0 ppm), Effuanta-Tamso road (10.38 ppm) and UMaT (3.0 ppm) dumpsites.The CO concentrations were negligible, 4, 22 and 27 ppm for UMaT, Ahwiteaso, Efuanta-Tamso road and Nzemaline, respectively.Moreover, at the closest residence, CO, SO2 and H2S were absent except at Efuanta-Tamso that recorded SO2 concentration of 0.1 ppm.The NO2 gas was also recorded at the various residences close to the dumpsites except that close to UMaT dumpsite.The quality of air around the nearest residences were generally good which makes them acceptable to the public.Conversely, the air quality around the dumpsites, generally ranged between "Good" and "unhealthy for sensitive groups" categories, indicating satisfactory air quality at some dumpsites and others with poor air quality.Overall, the study has shown that the unmanned dumpsites within Tarkwa-Nsuaem generate toxic gases that may create health challenges with prolong human exposure.