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Ecotoxicity of heavy metals in soil around long-term e-waste recycling sites in Tema and Ashaiman areas of Ghana

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Abstract

The effect of e-waste recycling activities on the prevalence of metals (Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and a metalloid (As) in soil was assessed for four e-waste sites in Ghana. Samples of top- and subsoil were collected from dismantling and burning sections, and the prevalence and the distribution of selected metals were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The concentrations of the metals analyzed were above the background concentrations except for Cd, which was detected at a comparable level to the background levels. Levels of Cu and Pb increased with increasing soil depth. Cd, Zn, As, and Ni levels decreased with increasing soil depth. However, Hg levels showed no recognizable trend in its distribution relative to soil depth. The pollution indices evaluated revealed deterioration of the soil quality at the e-waste sites. Pollution indices are used to categorize soil pollution levels based on cut-off values. Geo-accumulation indices suggested that the soil was very highly polluted with Pb, highly polluted with Cu, and moderately polluted with As, Hg, Cd, and Zn. The enrichment factor values indicated that soil from the studied sites was very highly enriched with Pb (i.e., EF of 9.60 to 63.14; median being 28.51) and significantly enriched with Cu and Hg (i.e., EF of 3.09 to 21.86; median 7.72 for Cu and EF of 1.48 to 25.5; median 10.57 for Hg). The contamination factor analysis revealed very high contamination of soils with Pb. The metals Cu, Zn, As, Ni, Cd, and Hg exhibited moderate to considerable contamination. This study is part of the continuous effort to assist policymakers with scientific information needed to influence policy decisions on environmental management in Ghana.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the National Nuclear Research Institute at Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana EPA), and Ghana Food & Drugs Authority (GFDA) for non-financial support and colleagues from the Department of Nuclear Science and Applications, University of Ghana, Atomic Campus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Power Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box LG80, Legon-, Accra, Ghana

    Charles Kofi Klutse

  2. Department of Nuclear Science and Applications, Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, University of Ghana, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, AE1, Kwabenya-, Accra, Ghana

    Charles Kofi Klutse, Mustapha Abeiku Quayson, Amos Forson & Ebenezer Aquisman Asare

  3. Accelerator Research Centre, National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box LG80, Legon-, Accra, Ghana

    Christian Nuveadenu

  4. Water Resource Research Centre, National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box LG80, Legon-, Accra, Ghana

    Ebenezer Aquisman Asare

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Contributions

The conceptualization and design of the study were done by Charles Kofi Klutse. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Mustapha Abeiku Quayson and were supervised by Charles Kofi Klutse. Data assessment and approval were performed by Charles Kofi Klutse, Christian Nuveadenu, and Amos Forson. Data analysis and visualization were done by Christian Nuveadenu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mustapha Abeiku Quayson and was supervised by Charles Kofi Klutse. All authors read and commented on the first manuscript. Manuscript reorganization and revision were performed by Ebenezer Aquisman Asare and Mustapha Abeiku Quayson. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Table S1 Mean Concentration of Heavy Metals in Soils (mg/kg), sample size is 12 for the analytes and 8 for the two controls (DOCX 74 kb)

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Klutse, C.K., Quayson, M.A., Forson, A. et al. Ecotoxicity of heavy metals in soil around long-term e-waste recycling sites in Tema and Ashaiman areas of Ghana. Environ Monit Assess 196, 74 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-12223-4

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