• 2025-04-25
• O.B. Okedere, R.O. Yusuff, A.K. Bewaji, B.S. Awosika
• Volume 1, Issue 1

Abstract

There is a tremendous increase in output of municipal wastes in Nigeria which is predicated largely upon the country’s exponential increase in population. In the absence of effective waste management facilities, open burning of waste at dumpsites is the predominant means of waste disposal with possible negative impacts on human and environmental health. The present study therefore investigated the concentrations of total suspended particulates (TSP) at Egbedi dumpsite, an officially designated expanse of land for solid waste disposal in Osun State, Nigeria. The concentrations of TSP were determined for four different locations on the dumpsite using a combination of active sampling and gravimetric procedures. Two of the sampling points (S1 and S2) represented the actual burning locations while the other two (S3 and S4) are 100 m away downwind of the actual burning site. The toxicity potentials (TP) of TSP at the four sampling locations were obtained by dividing each measured TSP by the limits recommended by Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment, World Health Organization and the World Bank. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry was used for the determination of important metallic elements present in the TSP. The onsite concentration of TSP ranged between 546.35 μg/m3 and 2005.24 μg/m3 which clearly exceeded all the recommended limits. The TP exceeded 1.0 at all the sampling locations indicating unhealthy air quality condition of the air shed. The onsite levels of heavy metals (lead, zinc, copper and manganese) all exceeded their daily exposure limits. The study therefore concluded that, the onsite air shed of Egbedi dumpsite, Osun State is unhealthy and may pose serious health hazards to dumpsite workers.