Authors: Umudi Ese Queen, Erienu Obruche Kennedy, Apuyor Kingsley Efe, Apuyor Stanley Ejohwomu, Onwugbuta Godpower Chukwuemeka, Eresanya Olanrewaju Isola, Ikechukwu Sampson Chikwe
Abstract: The research looked into how dumpsites affect the areas around them. They collected and tested the dust and heavy metals found in chickens raised near these waste sites during both dry and wet seasons. For three months, young chickens were fed solid waste and leachates from these sites, and then they were sacrificed for analysis. A standard method for testing dust and heavy metals was followed, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). They used Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy to find out how much heavy metal was present. The levels of Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Hg in the dust varied by season, ranging from 1.40 (JK) to 210.60 (SA), BDL (CTR) to 3.74 (RA), 0.241 (KU) to 390.0 (JK), 2.26 (CTR) to 78.260 (SH), and BDL (CTR) to 25.69 (AJ). For the chicken samples, the heavy metal levels ranged from BDL (CTR) to 8.844 (JK), BDL (CTR) to 2.850 (BG), BDL (CTR) to 0.099 (BG), BDL (CTR) to 128.017 (NTC), and BDL (CTR) to 83.122 mg/kg (DD) for Zn, Pb, Cd, Cu, and Hg across different sites and seasons. Most of the metal levels in the chicken samples were below safe limits, but a few were not, indicating that people living near these dumpsites are affected. The Kaduna State Environmental Agency (KEPA) needs to work on reducing hazardous waste and provide better waste disposal options.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17637261
