Discharge of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn from E-waste Components into Dumpsites Soil at Westminster Market, Lagos Nigeria

Abstract

The generation of electronic waste (e-waste) has increased due to the advancement in electrical and electronic industries. E-waste is term used to describe unwanted electronic products. E-waste contained toxic heavy metals such as barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, arsenic, zinc, nickel and lead. This study evaluated the discharge of heavy metals from e-waste in dumpsites soil located at Westminster Market, Lagos, Nigeria using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Four dumpsites from where e-waste are regularly being dumped were taken along side with control samples at a distance of 20 and 50 m away from each site for the analysis of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu and Zn contents. The concentrations of the metals were found to range from 23.0±0.1 to 46.0±3.2 μg/g for Cr, 124.8±1.2 to 406.0±6.2 μg/g for Mn, 62.8±2.4 to 78.0±1.0 μg/g for Ni, 23.6±0.8 to190.2±4.0 μg/g for Cu and 236.2±5.6 to 746.0±1.2 μg/g for Zn. Statistical analyses of the data obtained via Pearson correlation indicated that some of the metals showed positive correlations, while others displayed negative correlations with each other. When compared with standard values, some of these metals exceeded the tolerable limit recommended which indicates the contribution of e-waste to the concentrations of heavy metals in the soil.