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Assessment of levels, Bioavailability and Fractionation of Lead and Cadmium in soils of abandoned Municipal waste open dumpsite proposed for Food crop cultivation

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Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
  • 2Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
  • 3Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
  • 4Department of Pure & Applied Chemistry, Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria

Int. Res. J. Environment Sci., Volume 15, Issue (3), Pages 18-24, July,22 (2026)

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess the levels and speciation of heavy metals (Pb and Cd) in soils of an abandoned open central municipal solid waste dumpsite at Ugwuaji in Enugu, Nigeria. Samples of soils were collected from the site of the old dumpsite. To obtain the levels of the metals, the samples were cleaned, dried and pulverized. Wet digestions were carried out on all the samples using nitric- perchloric acids, followed by the evaluations of heavy metal contents using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS). The heavy metal concentrations in the soils (mg/kg) ranged from 20.825 to 62.501 and 7.250 to 11.806 for Pb and Cd respectively, which were all higher than their levels in the control samples, but were within the recommended limit by WHO and CCME except for Cd. Metal fractionations were carried out using the Tessier’s protocol. The results showed that 62% and 29% of the total Cd and Pb content of the soil were bioavailable respectively. The results raise a lot of concern as the residents are using the abandoned site for cultivation of edible vegetables and other perennial crops.

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