Electrochemical and microbiological effects of dumpsite leachates on soil and air quality

Abstract This study investigated the environmental impact and health challenges of poorly managed solid waste materials. During this study, soil specimens were sampled at five spatial points (within a radius of 250 m) from the active and passive unlined dumpsites. Thereafter, the electrical properties and microbiology levels of the heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and arsenic (As) sampled specimens were evaluated in accordance with approved International standards. Also, the environmental air quality was measured using a portable gas detector. The results obtained revealed that the dumpsite activities substantially increased the soil’s heavy metal concentration, while the total bacterial count in the contaminated soils ranged from 7.54 × 10 6 to 128.30 × 10 6 cfu/g. Likewise, the soil’s electrical conductivity and electrical resistivity varied from 21.31 to 76.02 mS/m and 7.61 to 17.23 Ω m, respectively. Exceptionally, the SO 2 , NO x, and NH 3 levels around the active dumpsite vicinity were greater than the level approved by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, the contamination factor and pollution load index results indicated that the dumpsite neighborhood soils were contaminated with toxic metals. The findings of this study have highlighted the necessity of proper waste management approaches to avoid toxic metal toxicity, epidemic diseases, and disruption of telecommunication services.