International Science Community Association International Research Journal of Environmental Sciences 15 3 2026 07 22 Assessment of levels, Bioavailability and Fractionation of Lead and Cadmium in soils of abandoned Municipal waste open dumpsite proposed for Food crop cultivation 18 24 EN Thabah Marshal 1 Department of Environmental Science, Shillong College Meghalaya–793115, India Thabah Hubertwell 2 Department of Environmental Science, Shillong College Meghalaya–793115, India Nongbri Batriti 3 Department of Environmental Science, Shillong College Meghalaya–793115, India Qushakov Sherzod D. 1 Dept. of Power Supply and Renewable Energy Sources, TIIAME-National Research University and Jizzakh Polytechnic Institute Tashkent, Uzbekistan I.O. Agbo 1 Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria N.R. Ekere 2 Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria M.C.J. Ugbor 3 Department of Pure & Industrial Chemistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria V.E. Agbazue 4 Department of Pure & Applied Chemistry, Veritas University, Abuja, Nigeria > Research Paper 2026 4 30 2026 07 22 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. Copyright@ International Science Community Association