Heavy metal content and health risk assessment at Akri waste dumpsite, Niger Delta Region of Nigeria

In most parts of the world, solid waste management is a serious worry and unsolved problem, particularly in poor countries, where solid waste is dumped in unregulated dumpsites in public spaces. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the contamination levels, sources, and associated health risks in the groundwater around the Akri solid waste dumpsite. The methodology involves a combination of field sampling, laboratory analysis, and statistical techniques to draw conclusions about the current state of groundwater quality and propose recommendations for future actions. This method has the potential to contaminate environmental compartments, such as soil, surface water, and groundwater, putting human health at risk. Groundwater samples were taken from 18 locations in and near the Akri solid waste dumpsite in Warri, Nigeria, for physicochemical analysis following the American Public Health Association (APHA) set standard. Principal component analysis (PCA) results revealed that that the loadings in components were essentially from enduring or potentially filtering of loess. The correlation index witnessed poor correlation within elements. Contamination factor values of less than 1 were observed in the entire study area except for Fe which had values ranging from moderate contamination to extremely high contamination. Pollution load index (PLI) values had values of less than one, implying low pollution. Metal Pollution Index (MPI) values in the entire samples had their concentration levels less than 0.3. The values of Pollution Index of Groundwater (PIG) showed that the entire samples within the study area were below 0.1. Contamination Index values showed that the entire water samples ranged between clean water to heavy polluted water, especially boron (Br) and Iron (Fe). Furthermore, the hazard quotients (HQ) reported that the non-carcinogenic risk posed by drinking water containing trace metals for both children and adults in the research area is in the trend of As > Fe > Ni > Cu > Cr > Pb > Br > Hg. It was observed that anthropogenic activities are the major cause of heavy metals in groundwater within the study. Regular appraisal of groundwater sources is highly recommended.