Assessment of Groundwater Quality, Geochemical Modeling, and Multidimensional Health Risk Analysis Near Municipal Solid Waste Dumpsites in Obio/Akpor, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Incessant uncontrolled development of municipal solid waste dumpsites as well as the resultant seepage of contaminants is a serious hazard to shallow aquifer systems in the Niger Delta region.  The access to the ground water of the Obio/Akpor Alakahia and Choba communities, Obio/Akpor, Rivers state, based on Ogbogoro community, a control baseline, ground water quality by physicochemical, heavy metal, and microbial parameters is examined in this study. A model of Water Quality Index (WQI) is combined with Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) to measure the associated threats to the population. The findings show a hydrogeochemical signature of high acidity (pH 4.985.32) and exceedingly low mineralization (TDS 1012mg/L), although heavy metals like Lead and Cadmium were absent, the Nickel (0.069mg/L) was more than the permissible limits prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO) at the dumpsite-proximal sites. The calculated WQI indicates the presence of a distinct pollution gradient with the dumpsites being more polluted than the control site with a score of 322.9 (Alakahia) and 322.7 (Choba) dumpsite nearby water being Unsuitable to drink. Biologically, the water is critically impaired as Escherichia coli counts (15 CFU/ml) show that it is being actively polluted by faeces. The HHRA index of non-carcinogenic risk (Hazard Index) was smaller than the number of 1.0 at all sites, which confirmed that the major health concern is acute waterborne infection and not the chronic toxicity of heavy metals. The conclusion of the study is that the dumpsites overlay an important point-source pollution impetus on a regionally sensitive and already debilitated aquifer.Incessant uncontrolled development of municipal solid waste dumpsites as well as the resultant seepage of contaminants is a serious hazard to shallow aquifer systems in the Niger Delta region.  The access to the ground water of the Obio/Akpor Alakahia and Choba communities, Obio/Akpor, Rivers state, based on Ogbogoro community, a control baseline, ground water quality by physicochemical, heavy metal, and microbial parameters is examined in this study. A model of Water Quality Index (WQI) is combined with Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) to measure the associated threats to the population. The findings show a hydrogeochemical signature of high acidity (pH 4.985.32) and exceedingly low mineralization (TDS 1012mg/L), although heavy metals like Lead and Cadmium were absent, the Nickel (0.069mg/L) was more than the permissible limits prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO) at the dumpsite-proximal sites. The calculated WQI indicates the presence of a distinct pollution gradient with the dumpsites being more polluted than the control site with a score of 322.9 (Alakahia) and 322.7 (Choba) dumpsite nearby water being Unsuitable to drink. Biologically, the water is critically impaired as Escherichia coli counts (15 CFU/ml) show that it is being actively polluted by faeces. The HHRA index of non-carcinogenic risk (Hazard Index) was smaller than the number of 1.0 at all sites, which confirmed that the major health concern is acute waterborne infection and not the chronic toxicity of heavy metals. The conclusion of the study is that the dumpsites overlay an important point-source pollution impetus on a regionally sensitive and already debilitated aquifer.