The impacts of landfill management site A on grass, soil, and surface water: a preliminary study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Environmental pollution is a major global challenge, and the prime pollution source is anthropogenic activities, including industrial and waste management activities amongst others. Heavy metals are known pollutants released due to landfill operations and pose a problem in the terrestrial ecosystem, aquatic ecosystem, and human health through exposure. There are well-documented studies of heavy metal contamination and its impact on soil, groundwater, and surface water, and plants in general, yet the characteristics of contamination can be unique to each landfill site. This study aimed to investigate the potential impacts of toxic waste leachate from a landfill site in KwaZulu-Natal on the surrounding grasses, soil, and surface water. The methodology involved two broad approaches to data collection, a quantitative approach which entailed collecting grass, soil, and surface water samples near the landfill site to determine the levels of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) and their potential impacts, and a qualitative approach which entailed interviews with nearby residents to investigate the community’s perception and awareness of health and environmental risks associated with living close to the landfill site. Three sampling sites downhill from the landfill site were sampled, namely the central stream site (adjacent to the leachate/storm water dam one, downstream site (storm water dam two), and control site-upstream (northbound), and heavy metals concentration varied significantly between sample types and sites. In almost all cases, the heavy metals exceeded WHO permissible limits. Contamination factor (Cf), pollution load index (PLI), and ecological risk index (Ri) were also calculated and based on these, in grass Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn contributed to very high contamination in the central stream area, whereas downstream, Cd showed very high contamination, suggesting a very high ecological risk. In soil, contamination levels and risk were mostly moderate to low. In surface water, Pb contributed to high contamination while downstream water was mostly moderately contaminated. The most common challenge highlighted by community members during interviews were air pollution, water pollution, dust, and noise nuisance. For all communities, headaches are the most commonly reported, followed by asthmatic conditions and respiratoryrelated distress. The results indicated that people living 1-2km away from the landfill site were likely more exposed to health and environmental-related risk than people living 3-5km away from the potential polluting sources. iii In conclusion, high heavy metal contamination in soil, surface water, and grass suggests a likely leachate leakage and/or the dispersion of other related pollutants in the surrounding environment, which requires a further in-depth investigation to find the signature source of pollution.
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science to the Faculty of Science, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023
Keywords
Environmental pollution, Toxic waste, KwaZulu-Natal
Citation
Ndobe, Florence Nonhlanhla. (2024). The impacts of landfill management site A on grass, soil, and surface water: a preliminary study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDFSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/37462