Occurrence and spatial distribution of heavy metals in landfill leachates and impacted freshwater ecosystem: An environmental and human health threat

Municipal landfill leachates are a source of toxic heavy metals that have been shown to have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess heavy metal contamination in leachates, surface water, and sediments from non-sanitary landfills in Uyo, Nigeria, and to i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	PloS one Vol. 17; no. 2; p. e0263279
Main Authors:	Essien, Joseph P, Ikpe, Donald I, Inam, Edu D, Okon, Aniefiokmkpong O, Ebong, Godwin A, Benson, Nsikak U
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 03-02-2022 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Adults Aquatic ecosystems Bioaccumulation Biodegradation Biology and Life Sciences Biota Cadmium Carcinogenicity Carcinogens Chemical compounds Chemical contaminants Chemical pollution Chemistry Children Cluster Analysis Contaminants Contamination Decomposition Developing countries Distribution Dry season Earth Sciences Ecological risk assessment Ecology and Environmental Sciences Ecosystem Environmental aspects Environmental effects Environmental Exposure Environmental health Environmental impact Environmental indicators Environmental Monitoring - methods Environmental Pollutants Exposure Fresh Water Freshwater ecosystems Geologic Sediments Geospatial data Groundwater Hazardous materials Hazardous substances Health risk assessment Health risks Heavy metals Humans Ingestion Landfill Landfills LDCs Leachates Medicine and Health Sciences Metals, Heavy Methods Microorganisms Municipal landfills Municipal solid waste Nigeria Physical Sciences Pollution Pollution index Pollution indicators Pollution load Pollution monitoring Principal Component Analysis Public health Rainy season Refuse and refuse disposal Risk Risk Assessment Sanitary landfills Sediment pollution Sediment samplers Sediments Soil Soil Pollutants - analysis Spatial distribution Surface water Waste Disposal Facilities Water Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis Nigeria
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Summary:	Municipal landfill leachates are a source of toxic heavy metals that have been shown to have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess heavy metal contamination in leachates, surface water, and sediments from non-sanitary landfills in Uyo, Nigeria, and to identify potential health and environmental effects of leachate contamination. Over the wet and dry seasons, surface water and sediment samples were collected from an impacted freshwater ecosystem, and leachates samples from six monitoring wells. Elemental analyses of samples were conducted following standard analytical procedures and methods. The results indicated that leachate, surface water, and sediment samples all had elevated levels of heavy metals, implying a significant impact from landfills. Pollution indices such as the potential ecological risk index (PERI), pollution load index (PLI), degree of contamination (Cd), modified degree of contamination (mCd), enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), and Nemerov pollution index (NPI) were used to assess the ecological impacts of landfill leachates. The following values were derived: PERI (29.09), PLI (1.96E-07), Cd (0.13), mCd (0.16), EF (0.97-1.79E-03), Igeo (0), and NPI (0.74). Pollution indicators suggested that the sediment samples were low to moderately polluted by chemical contaminants from the non-sanitary landfills, and may pose negative risks due to bioaccumulation. Human health risks were also assessed using standard risk models. For adults, children, and kids, the incremental lifetime cancer rate (ILCR) values were within the acceptable range of 1.00E-06-1.00E-04. The lifetime carcinogenicity risks associated with oral ingestion exposure to heavy metals were 9.09E-05, 1.21E-05, and 3.60 E-05 for kids, adults, and children, respectively. The mean cumulative risk values for dermal exposures were 3.24E-07, 1.89E-06, and 1.17E-05 for adults, children, and kids, respectively. These findings emphasized the risks of human and biota exposure to contaminants from landfills.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0263279