Available online Aug 21, 2025.

[ Original ] Volume 31, Issue 4, 2025, Pages 735-750

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Abstract

A detailed study was conducted around waste dumpsite in the study area, to evaluate the levels of heavy metals in the soil. Soil samples were collected at twenty (20) different locations within waste dumpsites for the study. The heavy metals (zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), and iron (Fe)) were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The resulting data was analysed using principal component analysis (PCA), Pearson correlation, and the heavy metal indices:  Potential Ecological Risk (ERI), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo), Contamination Factor (CF), and Nemerow Pollution Index (PNI).  Thesoil contain the heavy metals: zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), copper Cu, Pb, Cd, Hg, Ni, As, and Fe. Their concentrations, inorder 9.28 to 60.1 mg/kg for Zn, 4.4 to 14.39 mg/kg for Cr, 5.4 to 21.39 mg/kg for Cu, 6.07 to 17.5 mg/kg for Pb, 0.04 to 1.5 mg/kg for Cd, 0.0001 to 0.003 mg/kg for Hg, 7.28 to 20.38 mg/kg for Ni, 0.0001 to 0.003 mg/kg for As, and 1020 to 16540 mg/kg for Fe,The Igeo data indicated that all samples fell within the range of 0 to 2, implying that the sediment quality was largely unpolluted. The PNI yielded a diverse array of results within the study area, PC1 has a loading percentage of 77.8%, PC2 has a loading percentage of 44.4%, PC3 has a loading percentage of 33.3%, and PC4 has a loading percentage of 11.1%. This loading signifies the element's importance in the contribution of pollution within elements and to the soil.  Further deductions from soil samples results that was compared to World Health Organization (WHO), and Department of Petroleum Resource (DPR), permissible limit suggested that all samples were below the permissible limit except for Cd, that its concentration was above WHO limit at some locations namely; DO/ 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 08, 09, 10, 12, 13,and 18, this could be attributed to anthropogenic activities within the study area. These findings can serve as a valuable resource for those responsible for managing dumpsites, aiding in the prevention of heavy metal soil contamination.

 

 

Keywords

Risk Assessment, Index, Solid waste, Ecological risk, Statistical techniques,

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