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Non-segregated municipal solid waste in an open dumping ground: a potential contaminant in relation to environmental health

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Abstract

The present article discusses an overview on the contamination of non-segregated open municipal solid waste (MSW) in and around a dumping site at Garchuk in Guwahati city, Assam, India. Analysis showed depth-wise variations in the concentrations of selected heavy metals in MSW and their subsequent accumulations with increasing depths. Zinc was the most abundant heavy metal in MSW. Six-step selective sequential extractions revealed that most of the heavy metals in MSW were in the residual phase except zinc. Analysis of the leachate from MSW showed high concentrations of fluoride, chloride, ammonium–nitrogen and the ratio of biological oxygen demand/chemical oxygen demand. Concentrations of all the heavy metals in the leachates were higher than the Indian national effluent standards. High amounts of biological oxygen demand, heavy metals, total and fecal coliforms in water samples from the adjoining water body (Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site) of the MSW dumping site indicated its unsuitability for domestic use. Principle component analysis showed that influence of MSW leachate was the major source of water contamination in Deepor Beel. Though accumulation of heavy metals in different vegetables growing in MSW dumping site did not exceed the recommended maximum intake, it was a significant additional source of heavy metals in cooked human diet.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments that have enabled them in improving the quality of the article. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. M. Hazarika, Director, Tocklai Experimental Station, Tea Research Association, Jorhat, Assam; Dr. Suhas Ghosh, Former Faculty Member, Chemistry Department, St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India and Dr. Sampa Das, Dibrugarh Polythechnic, Assam, India, for their valuable comments and helpful suggestions during the preparation of this manuscript. The authors are also thankful to Mr. Shyamal Chakravorty and Dr. Sukumar Debnath of Tocklai Experimental Station, Jorhat, Assam, India, for their valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pollution Control Board, Bamunimaidam, Guwahati, 781 021, Assam, India

    T. Karak

  2. Department of Soil, Tocklai Experimental Station, Tea Research Association, Jorhat, 785 008, Assam, India

    T. Karak

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA

    P. Bhattacharyya

  4. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, 788 011, Assam, India

    T. Das

  5. Division of Biometrics and Statistical Modelling, Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi, 110 012, India

    R. K. Paul

  6. Life Science Division, Institute of Advance Study in Science and Technology, Paschim Boragaon, Garchuk, Guwahati, 781 035, Assam, India

    R. Bezbaruah

  7. Indian Statistical Institute, North East Centre, Tezpur, 784 028, Assam, India

    P. Bhattacharyya

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Karak, T., Bhattacharyya, P., Das, T. et al. Non-segregated municipal solid waste in an open dumping ground: a potential contaminant in relation to environmental health. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 10, 503–518 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-013-0184-5

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