55
Views
12
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Toxicity and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in leachates from an unlined dumpsite in Nnewi, Nigeria

, , ORCID Icon &
Received 18 Aug 2022, Accepted 27 Sep 2022, Published online: 02 Nov 2022
 

ABSTRACT

Leachates from dumpsites have been known to pollute the environment with deleterious effects. The study examined the levels of the sixteen United States Environmental Protection Agency polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in leachates from an unlined solid waste dumpsite using a gas chromatography incorporated with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). Possible sources of the PAHs were identified using diagnostic pair ratios. Toxicity and mutagenic health-related risk were extrapolated. The average levels of PAHs ranged from 0.03–147.85 µg/L. The anthracene value of 147.85 µg/L was the maximum PAH concentration recorded. The lowest PAH observed was 0.03 µg/L, which was found in benzo(k)fluoranthene. The 3 – ring PAHs matrix was the highest PAH observed and it followed a ring size decreasing order of 3 > 4 > 5 > 2 > 6 in the leachate sample. The diagnostic pair ratio suggested mixed sources with a slightly dominant petrogenic source identified. The cluster analysis showed different sources of the congeners in the leachate. The benzo(a)pyrene toxic and mutagenic risk quotients showed that the greater concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene and dibenz(a,h)anthracene can induce carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic related health risks to a living organism.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,223.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.