Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-0915-y

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Heavy metal contamination assessment of groundwater quality:

a case study of Oti landfill site, Kumasi
Thomas Kwame Boateng1   · Francis Opoku1,2   · Osei Akoto1

Received: 12 February 2018 / Accepted: 18 February 2019

© The Author(s) 2019

Abstract
Environmentally friendly municipal solid waste management is the biggest problem facing several developing countries,
including Ghana. Heavy metals pollution generated by landfill leachate has become increasingly concerned due to its potential
impact on human health. This study assessed the pollution level and sources of heavy metal levels in groundwater, as well
as evaluated the human health risk effect. The sampling technique and sample treatment were done based on the Standard
Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. The results suggested that the mean concentration of Pb, Fe, Cd, and
Cr was above the acceptable limits of the World Health Organization for drinking water except for Zn and Cu. The heavy
pollution index indicates contamination, while hazard index values at sites B­ H1 and W­ 4 were greater than one, suggesting
adverse health effects. However, the heavy metal pollution index values were less than the critical limit of 100 for drinking
water. Multivariate analysis predicted that lithogenic and anthropogenic factors were the possible sources of water pollution
of heavy metal in the Oti community. Thus, multivariate statistical techniques could be a beneficial tool for the evaluation
of possible sources of heavy metal contamination. The high levels of heavy metals found in the Oti community suggested a
considerable pollution of water by leachate percolation from the landfill site. The findings of the study, which can be used
in areas under similar environmental conditions, can offer a valuable benchmark for the design of suitable approaches to
manage groundwater resources by both local and national policymakers.

Keywords  Hazard index · Heavy metals · Pollution index · Leachate · Groundwater

Introduction economical way of managing solid wastes. In particular,

developing countries use landfills as the primary method
Man’s activities from manufacturing and processing of con- for disposing of innocuous solid waste because of their con-
sumption lead to waste generation. Management of munici- siderable advantages, such as low technological barriers and
pal solid waste (MSW) is one of the major environmental economic efficiency (Gonzalez-Valencia et al. 2016). How-
and public health problems for major cities in the developing ever, several landfills in developing countries are operated
countries (Renou et al. 2008). Among the waste manage- below acceptable standards (Oyeku and Eludoyin 2010) and
ment methods, landfill is the inexpensive, simple, and most the wastes are not sorted; hence, leachates and toxic gases
are accidentally released into the environment (Alimba et al.
2012; Schrapp and Al-Mutairi 2010). Thus, in developing
* Francis Opoku
[email protected] countries, it is common to find unhygienic landfills in public
places (i.e., close to residential buildings) and seasonal high-
Thomas Kwame Boateng
[email protected] water table areas (Alimba et al. 2006).
Leachates are generated when MSW encounters water
Osei Akoto
[email protected] that penetrate through the landfill sites. The exposure to
the leachate constituents above the recommended limits
1
Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University can be associated with a plethora of biometal poisoning-
of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana related symptoms and diseases, for example, asthma, depres-
2
Department of Applied Chemistry, University sion, vomiting and convulsion, ataxia, cardiovascular and
of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein Campus, renal diseases, diarrhea, neurological diseases, cancer,
Johannesburg 2028, South Africa

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hypertension, pneumonitis, skeletal deformities, anemia, and high-rejection reverse osmosis membranes can also retain
gastrointestinal disorders (Abarikwu et al. 2013; Farombi both dissolved inorganic and organic contaminants with
et al. 2012). Leachate can leak via geomembranes and enter rejection rates as high as 98–99% (Peters 1998). Efficient
into the soil and aquatic environments through manufactur- removal of heavy metals through adsorption onto composite
ing and construction defects, as well as a vapor diffusion via materials (Mojiri et al. 2016), activated carbon (Foul et al.
the liner (Grugnaletti et al. 2016; Pantini et al. 2014). There- 2009), and chitosan/montmorillonite (Assaad et al. 2007)
fore, areas close to landfills have a greater chance of water has also been reported. Advanced oxidation processes have
pollution due to the possible contamination source of lea- also been employed for removing organic contaminants in
chate originating from the dump sites. Thus, leakage of lea- wastewater (Chemlal et al. 2014).
chate can cause pollution of nearby groundwater and surface Solid waste management has become a tremendous work
water, agriculture, and natural ecosystems, especially when for the densely populated developing country due to the huge
the leachate is released uncontrolled, and hence, can cause production rate of wastes and poor management of infra-
environmental health issues in many developing countries structure. The issue of MSW is more serious in developing
(Adamcová et al. 2017; Oyeku and Eludoyin 2010; Samad- countries, including Ghana, where MSW disposal is mostly
der et al. 2017). The effect of landfill leachate in surface operated using dump yards or landfills that lack leachate
water and groundwater has been reported (Abu Qdais 2010; collection and treatment systems. In Ghana, the production
Guan et al. 2014). Conventionally, groundwater is regarded of MSW has developed in parallel with rapid population
as a good natural quality due to its geological environment growth, as well as urban, commercial, and industrial expan-
(MacDonald and Calow 2009). sion. Moreover, the management systems of industrial and
Landfill leachate is a concern since it is a complex mix- urban waste are limited, and landfills considered to be dis-
ture composed of several pollutants, such as heavy metals, posal sites are situated in urban rivers, agricultural lands,
soluble inorganic and organic compounds, suspended par- and public spaces without treatment. Considering the dif-
ticles, and nutrients (Mavakala et al. 2016; Naveen et al. ferent types of soil contamination, heavy metals are con-
2017). Monitoring of heavy metal concentrations in landfill sidered one of the most challenging environmental issues
leachate has been routinely performed by landfill operators because of their persistence, non-biodegradability, toxicity,
(Baun and Christensen 2004). Heavy metals present in lea- and bioaccumulation (Alloway 2013). Heavy metal pollution
chates from both hazardous waste dump sites and municipal of groundwater and surface water surrounding the landfill
solid waste landfills pose a serious threat to public health, sites has identified as the most severe environmental issues
since they can cause several physiological effects to human in many developing countries including Ghana (Kumar and
health (Jaishankar et al. 2014), as well as ecotoxicological Alappat 2005; Longe and Balogun 2010; Nartey et al. 2012;
impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (Nagajyoti Nyame et al. 2012; Osei et al. 2011). The majority of earlier
et al. 2010). For example, long-term exposure to arsenic can studies focus on assessing heavy metals pollution hazards in
cause neurological problems, internal cancers, cardiovas- groundwater environments due to their toxicity (Azizi et al.
cular, and hypertension disease (Smith et al. 2000). Heavy 2015; Cheng et al. 2013; Huang et al. 2011; Kucuksezgin
metals can also inhibit synthesis and growth of photosyn- et al. 2006). For instance, Cheng et al. (2013) determine
thetic pigments on the Lemna gibba (Demim et al. 2013). the health hazards of heavy metals, such as Mn, Cr, Pb, Cu,
This issue also even deteriorated with the improper disposal Fe, Ni, and Zn, in the aquaculture pond ecosystem of Pearl
of electronic products, leading to the release of high levels River Delta, China, via the health risk assessment approach.
of heavy metals (Awasthi et al. 2016; Wittsiepe et al. 2017). Huang et al. (2011) adopt the potential ecological risk index
The quantity and quality of leachate are influenced by and geo-accumulation index approaches to assess the extent
several factors, such as the composition of the waste, bio- of pollution from heavy metals, such as Ni, Cr, Cd, Zn, and
chemical processes that occur in the degradation stages of Pb, present in liquefaction residues of sewage sludge.
the waste, amount of moisture, and the local parameters (Ma In Ghana, the composition of solid waste varies signifi-
et al. 2018). The composition of leachate formed varied sig- cantly as all types of waste, such as redundant vegetables,
nificantly based on the biological and chemical reactions on broken batteries, food, thermometers, plastics bags, and
solid waste, the age of the landfill, waste compositions, land- chemical waste, are discarded together without proper sepa-
filling technology, and climatic conditions (Kjeldsen et al. ration. Since 2004, most of the MSW in Kumasi Metropolis
2002; Ziyang et al. 2009). Various treatment approaches has been directly deposited at the Oti landfill, Dompoase,
have been used for removing organic contaminants or without any bottom sealing systems in place. The Oti landfill
heavy metals from landfill leachate and wastewater. Effec- at Dompoase was sited far from residential areas in 2004
tive removal of heavy metals from wastewater was achieved when it was opened. However, rapid population growth and
through micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (Landaburu-Agu- urbanization have caused the number of residential buildings
irre et al. 2009) and biosorption (Souiri et al. 2009). Modern and other infrastructures to increase exponentially. Thus,

13
Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33 Page 3 of 15  33

residential buildings are now encroaching proximally to the geological formation in the Kumasi Metropolis. The major
Oti landfill site. About 1000 and 1200 metric tons of waste soil type in the area is mainly the forest Ochrosol. The soils
from Kumasi is dumped daily. This untreated fecal mat- in some peri-urban areas are developed on phyllites or
ter ends up in other communities such as Esreso, Adagya, granites. Those develop on phyllites are less acidic, while
Sokoban, Odaho, Ntenanko, Barekese, Bekwai, and Anwia those of granites are acidic. The type of soil in the Kumasi
Nkwanta where the Oda River flow through. To prevent soil, Metropolis includes Gleyic Cambisols, Gleyic Arenosols,
groundwater, and surface water contamination, the use of Eutric Gleysols and Haplic Acrisols with Ferric Acrisols as
an engineered barrier system in modern landfill sites is a the most common soil type (Mohammed 2004). The aquifer
growing concern in most developing countries. Landfilling is a sandy shallow type of about 7–10 m thickness. Soil
technology has undergone many advancements in the last recovered from the borehole drillings and hand-dug well
decades and evolved from uncontrolled city dumps to highly reveals that the soil strata at the top of the landfill were cov-
engineered structures designed to protect the environment. ered with rubbish. The climate is a wet sub-equatorial type
Despite these improvements, it has been reported that even with a double maximum rainfall regime of about 214.3 mm
sanitary landfill sites, which are commonly used to dispose in June and 165.2 mm in September every year. The aver-
of waste in a scientific manner in urban areas, have the age temperature ranges between 21.5 and 30.7 °C, with the
potential to pollute the surface and groundwater. average annual humidity of about 86%. The metropolis is
Up to now, the provision of portable water is a major in the moist semi-deciduous southeast ecological area. The
issue, particularly in many developing countries, including rich soil in the Kumasi Metropolis has promoted agriculture.
Ghana (Ahaneku and Adeoye 2014). The demand for good The city has a special place in terms of the economic, social,
drinking water in Ghana has increased in the past decades political, and cultural life of Ghana. Kumasi Metropolis has
without any rise in quality and quantity. Because of the about 2.5 million populations owing to travelers from neigh-
above issues, several households in the Oti community have boring districts that come to conduct business activities.
resulted in using boreholes and hand-dug wells as the only Roughly half of the waste produced in Kumasi originates
source of water for drinking and domestic purposes, where from households, while the rest is contributed by industrial
many people who reside near landfill sites are not aware of institutional and commercial sources. The city supports a
the health effects of drinking leachate-contaminated ground- wide range of products, which include plastics, textiles,
water. One of the major environmental challenges of several telecommunication components, electronics, and biomedi-
developing countries is the absence of a well-coordinated cal products. As a result of the manufacturing activities in
management policy to check the inappropriate disposal of the city and a large residential population, heavy metals are
solid waste into the environment. It is common to see heaps likely to present in the landfill leachate. The Oti landfill is
of solid waste deface the landscape of most cities in Ghana one of the sanitary landfills in Kumasi Metropolis. The Oti
and coupled with the fact that most Ghanaians use open landfill site was owned by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assem-
disposal devices that could ultimately pose serious hazards bly and operated by J. Stanley-Owusu and Company Lim-
on human health. To prevent the hazard posed by the land- ited. The Oti landfill site serves as a solid waste disposal
fill leachates, precautionary facilities must be constructed to site with a septage treatment plant attached. The Landfill
cater for both active and inactive leachates. The aim of this commenced operation in 2004, which was designed for a
study was to assess the health risk related to heavy metal period of 15 years. This was developed in three phases for
pollution of groundwater for drinking in the Oti community. every 5 years. The Oti landfill has a size of about 1000 acres
This study makes the use of pollution evaluation indices and and serves as the only landfill for the Kumasi Metropolis
multivariate statistical technique as a complementary tool made up of nine sub-metros and one (1) municipal generate
to check the likely source of contamination, which affects about 1500 metric tons of waste daily, out of which 1400 is
the quality of water in the study area. This study will help collected with the rest finding their way into drains, gutters,
policymakers in combating contamination around landfill and open places. Constructed as a waste stabilization pond,
sites by identifying the major pollution source. which takes care of liquid waste, the site has been man-
aged run by the J. Stanley-Owusu and Company Limited,
but the company had for some time now abandoned the site,
Materials and methods because it is owed millions of cedis in management fees
by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly. People have built
Study area close to the landfill despite the environmental and health
threats that come with living close to such sites. This landfill
The Kumasi Metropolis lies within latitude 6.35°–6.40′N site has been used as an uncontrolled open system without
and longitude 1.30°–1.35′W and occupies an area of any engineering operations on the flat area and/or the sur-
254  km 2. The middle Precambrian Rock is the main rounding farmland. The site received municipal solids and

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liquid wastes generated from commercial activities, hospi- subdivided into three sections: ­L 1, ­L 2, and ­L 3. The ­L 1,
tals, urban municipal, and industry residues. The leachate ­L2, and L­ 3 were chosen as the point before the treatment
generated from the uncontrolled open system without any process, the point of entry of treated effluent, and point
engineering operations flows into the cropland and ground- after the treatment process, respectively. To comprehend
water tables around the site. The lack of a barrier system or the temporal and spatial variations in the geochemistry of
a leachate collection system in the Oti landfill results in the landfill leachates, the leachate sample points were selected
release and flow of leachate into the surrounding groundwa- based on the natural streams draining the area, flow
ter resources and cropland. In September 2016, some resi- regimes, areas close to the dumpsite, and topography. The
dents protest on the improper management of the Oti landfill leachates samples were sampled at three sampling points
site, which the demonstrators claimed a released of pungent of the treatment plant. The locations L­ 1 and L
­ 3 points were
smell all over the community. located at the start and end, respectively, of the drainage
channel of the treatment plant, while the L ­ 2 point was in
Chemicals and reagents the middle (Fig. 1).
The leachate-affected water sampling points are selected
All chemicals utilized were of high analytical reagent grade, based on the groundwater movement of the region, which
which was supplied by BDH Chemical Ltd., UK, and Sigma- mainly occurs southwest to the northeast. Three boreholes
Aldrich Chemie GmbH, Steinheim, Germany. Sampling and four hand-dug wells were selected from the Oti com-
containers and glassware were rinsed with 1% HCl, satu- munity to collect groundwater samples, as shown in Fig. 1.
rated in 10% ­HNO3, and then rinsed with deionized water The boreholes and hand-dug well were labeled as ­BH1, ­BH2,
before use. and ­BH3 and the ­W1, ­W2, ­W3, and W­ 4, respectively. The
boreholes and hand-dug well were well situated and located
Sampling and preparation on the pathway of the groundwater flow in such a way that
any contaminants in the groundwater will be captured.
Triplicate monthly samples of treating and untreated lea- Moreover, the ability to sample all planned water samples
chate around the dumpsite were collected from three dif- was affected by poor access and dynamic functional status
ferent locations ­(L1, ­L2, and ­L3). The Oti landfill site is to some of the boreholes and hand-dug well samples of the

Fig. 1  Study area with sampling

locations

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Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33 Page 5 of 15  33

study area. A global positioning system (Garmin 76) was

used to record each sampling location (Table 1).
Forty-two water samples were fetched from hand-dug
wells and boreholes between December 2016 and March
2017. For boreholes, the water samples were fetched after
pumping for 15 min to eliminate immobile water. The sam-
ples were collected into a clean 1-L capacity polyethylene
bottles and acidified with H
­ NO3 to a pH < 2.0 to minimize
adsorption and precipitation on the container wall (APHA
2005). The groundwater was found to enter the study area
from the east–south and flow toward the northwest direction.
The leachate was assumed to follow the groundwater flow
direction. Figure 2 shows the groundwater direction to the
water table data. Oti Landfill Sites

Heavy metal analysis

Heavy metal concentrations (Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Fe) in Depth to Water Table
the groundwater samples were measured using Buck Scien- High : 53
tific model 210 VGP Atomic Absorption Spectrophotom-
eter with deuterium background correction lamp. A standard Low : 16
curve was obtained by running a prepared standard solution
of each heavy metal. Hundred milliliters of each sample
Fig. 2  Map showing the groundwater flow direction to the water table
was transferred into a beaker. A 5-mL conc. HCl was added in the Oti community
and heated using a hot plate until the volume was reduced
to 20 mL. The sample was cooled and then filtered. The
pH of the digest sample was adjusted to 4 by adding 5.0 N 1640a), standards, and blank sample. Replicate analysis of
NaOH. The sample was transferred to a 100-mL volumet- this reference material exhibited good accuracy with a rela-
ric flask and then diluted to the mark with deionized water. tive standard deviation of ≤ 4% and recovery rate between
The digest samples were used for the heavy metal analysis. 94.5 and 105.8%.
A standard solution containing a 1000 mg/L of 2% ­HNO3
was used to prepare the spiking experiments and calibra-
tion standards. Three working standards of each heavy metal Estimation of pollution evaluation indices
were prepared from these standards. in the water samples

Quality control To comprehend the overall water quality with reference to

the selected heavy metals, the heavy metal pollution index
The quality of measured values and analytical methods were (HPI), heavy metal evaluation index (HEI), and degree of
verified by analyzing a certified reference material (SRM contamination (Cd) were used.

Table 1  Description of the Sample code GPS coordinate Distance from Ground Groundwater Water
location of the selected landfill (m) level level (mRL) level
groundwater sampling sites and Longitude Latitude (mRL) (m)
water level of the Oti landfill
site BH1 E73°27′02.76″ N65°60′69.47″ 298.52 45.78 47.58 1.8
BH2 E73°30′02.96″ N65°55′27.31″ 158.12 45.14 48.84 3.7
BH3 E73°27′77.07″ N65°53′69.95″ 215.45 48.35 56.85 8.5
W1 E73°25′06.08″ N65°52′69.23″ 253.34 30.21 35.01 4.8
W2 E73°22′17.90″ N65°53′57.55″ 336.58 31.67 35.77 4.1
W3 E73°22′41.17″ N65°58′46.64″ 250.78 29.53 35.23 5.7
W4 E73°25′66.04″ N65°56′96.57″ 321.28 29.76 33.66 3.9

mRL mean reduced level

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 33   Page 6 of 15 Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33

Heavy metal pollution index upper permissible concentration and analytical value of the
ith component, respectively.
The HPI represents the total water quality relative to the
heavy metal. The HPI was inversely proportional to the Health risk assessment
standard of the resultant heavy metal (Horton 1965).
The relative weight (Wi) was inversely proportional to Risk assessment parameters and methods by Wongsasuluk
the World Health Organization (WHO) standard (WHO et al. (2014) were utilized in this study. According to Lee
2011). The HPI was evaluated following Eq. (1) (Mohan et al. (2005), health risk assessment comprises dose–response,
et al. 1996): exposure assessment, hazard identification, and risk charac-
∑n terization. Siriwong (2006) calculated the average daily dose
Wi Qi (ADD) of each heavy metal following Eq. (5):
HPI = ∑i=1
n (1)
i=1
Wi ( )
Ci × IR × EF × ED
ADDi = (5)
where Wi is the unit weight of the ith parameter, Qi is sub- (BW × AT)
index of the ith parameter, and n is the number of parameters
considered in this study. The Qi is determined following All the parameters used in Eq. (5) are defined in Table 2
Eq. (2) (Mohan et al. 1996): with the values valid on the assumption that the people in Oti
community drink from the borehole and well water samples.
n
The human health risk of metals in the water samples was
{ }
∑ Mi (−)Ii
Qi = × 100 (2) assessed as non-carcinogenic using the ADD calculation as
Si − Ii
follows:
i=1

where Ii and Mi are the ideal values and heavy metals con- ADD
centration of the ith parameter, respectively (Mohan et al. Hazard quotient (HQ) for non-carcinogenic effect =
RfD
1996). (6)
( ) ∑
Hazard index HIi = HQi (7)
Heavy metal evaluation index
The reference dose (RfD) values for each heavy metal are
According to Edet and Offiong (2002), HEI offers informa- presented in Table 3.
tion on the overall water quality relative to heavy metal, An HI < 1 signifies an acceptable level of risk, while HI > 1
which was calculated according to Eq. (3): represents an unacceptable risk of non-carcinogenic effects
(Lim et al. 2008).
n
∑ Hc The carcinogenic risk is the possibility of an individual to
HEI = (3) develop any type of cancer during the lifetime exposure to car-
i=1
Hmac
cinogenic threats (Li et al. 2014). According to USEPA (1989),
where Hmac and Hc are the maximum admissible concentra- the slope factor (SF) directly transforms the ADD of pollutants
tion and monitored value of the ith parameter, respectively exposed over a lifetime to the continual risk of a cancer patient:
(Edet and Offiong 2002).
Risk = ADD × SF (8)
The values for SF in mg/kg-day, RfD, and other calcu-
lated parameters are presented in Table 3.
Degree of contamination

According to Backman et al. (1998), the degree of con-

tamination was a summation of the combined effect of Table 2  Input parameters to characterize the average daily dose value
the water quality parameters, which was regarded toxic to
consumers and was determined following Eq. (4): Exposure parameters Symbols Units Value

n Ingestion rate IR L/day 2.2

CAi
Average time AT Years 70
∑
Cd = = −1 (4)
i=1
CNi Exposure duration ED Years 70
Exposure frequency EF Days/year 365
where N represents the normative value and CNi is the maxi- Body weight BW kg 70
mum admissible concentration. CNi and CAi represent the
Wongsasuluk et al. (2014)

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Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33 Page 7 of 15  33

Table 3  The toxicity responses of each heavy metal as oral reference MI values greater than 1 represent a threshold warning
dose and slope factor (Lyulko et al. 2001). Table 4 presents the metal index classi-
Heavy metals Oral ­RfDa (mg/kg/day) Oral ­SFb fication proposed by Lyulko et al. (2001) of water for drink-
(mg/kg/ ing and domestic purposes.
day)−1

Cd 5.0 × 10−4 n.d. Statistical analysis

Cu 4.0 × 10−2 n.d.
Pb 3.5 × 10−3 8.5 × 10−3 IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 20.0
Zn 0.3 n.d. was used for the statistical analysis. Basic statistical param-
Fe 0.7 n.d. eters including range, mean, and standard deviation were
Cr 1.5 0.5 analyzed alongside the correlation analysis and multivariate
analysis, such as the principal components analysis (PCA).
n.d. not determined Multivariate analysis is an important method for investi-
a
 USEPA IRIS (2011) and Wongsasuluk et al. (2014) gating the relationship between variables and samples and
b
 USEPA (2011) can simultaneously process water quality data. PCA was
used to distinguish the principal components for converting
Table 4  Classification of water quality based on the metal index multiple parameters to a few comprehensive indexes and
MI Characteristics Class
could replace the original parameters. Since the PCA results
could be affected by the non-independence of the spectral
< 0.3 Very pure I data, the partial correlation and dependence was tested by
0.3–1.0 Pure II Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s test (Guo et al.
1.0–2.0 Slightly affected III 2014). Correlation analysis was used to study the relation-
2.0–4.0 Moderately affected IV ship between variables. Significance levels are described as
4.0–6.0 Seriously affected V nonsignificant (p > 0.05), significant (0.05 < p < 0.01), or
> 0.6 Seriously affected VI highly significant (p < 0.01).

Risk value < 10−6 represents no carcinogenic risk to Results and discussion

health, while a risk value > 1 × 10−4 suggests a high risk
of developing cancer. A risk value ranging from 1 × 10−6 to Heavy metals analysis of the leachate samples
1 × 10−4 signifies an acceptable risk to human health (Hu
et al. 2012). Heavy metals concentrations in landfill leachate have been
an important parameter for choosing a suitable leachate
Pollution evaluation index treatment method (Tolaymat et al. 2004). Heavy metals in
leachate can take different forms depending on complexation
To assess the heavy metals contamination of the groundwa- of a waste matrix, degradation phase, and pH (Ashworth
ter, a single-factor pollution index proposed by Zhaoyong 2005). The presence of large concentrations of heavy metal
et al. (2015) was used: can retard the stability of the solid waste degradation process
(Pohland and Harper 1987). The levels of heavy metal from
Ci
over-limit ratio = (9) the leachate samples are presented in Table 5.
Si
Levels (mg/L) for Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Cu ranged
where Ci and Si are the measured concentration and the from 10.885 ± 0.069 to 25.612 ± 2.855, 1.722 ± 1.324
evaluation standard of heavy metals, respectively. to 6.092 ± 3.885, 1.516 ± 1.002 to 3.574 ± 2.228,
0.492 ± 0.157 to 1.083 ± 0.065, 0.701 ± 0.498 to
Metal index 1.918 ± 1.900, and 1.731 ± 1.356 to 1.984 ± 0.663 mg/L,
respectively. The mean concentration of Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd,
The metal index (MI) was used in this study to aid in the Cr, and Cu was above the Ghana EPA limit of 0.03, 3,
estimation of the overall water quality for drinking purpose. 0.01, 0.003, 1.00, and 0.05 mg/L, respectively, for waste-
MI was evaluated following the formula proposed by Tamasi water (EPA-Ghana 2001). The high level of Fe at site L ­1
and Cini (2004), as shown in Eq. (10): suggests that Fe and steel scrap were dumped at the landfill
site. The levels of Fe from this study were higher than that
of the 2.05–18.0 mg/L reported by Nyame et al. (2012) at
∑[
(10)
]
MI = Ci ∕(MAC)i
Accra Metropolis, Ghana. However, the levels of Fe were

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 33   Page 8 of 15 Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33

Table 5  Heavy metal Parameters Samples EPA-

concentrations of leachate Ghana
samples from the Oti landfill L1 (mean ± SD) L2 (mean ± SD) L3 (mean ± SD) (2001)
site
Fe 25.612 ± 2.855 15.708 ± 4.231 10.885 ± 0.069 0.03
Pb 3.574 ± 2.228 2.132 ± 1.785 1.516 ± 1.002 0.01
Cd 1.083 ± 0.065 0.514 ± 0.448 0.492 ± 0.157 0.003
Zn 6.092 ± 3.885 3.399 ± 2.752 1.722 ± 1.324 3.00
Cr 1.918 ± 1.900 0.701 ± 0.498 0.777 ± 0.105 0.05
Cu 1.309 ± 1.078 1.984 ± 0.663 1.731 ± 1.356 2

All results are in mg/L

L leachate

lower than the 63.41 and 400 mg/L recorded by Nagara- Levels of heavy metals in borehole and well water
jan et al. (2012) and Kanmani and Gandhimathi (2013) collected from the communities around the Oti
in Tamil Nadu and Tiruchirappalli landfill, India, respec- landfill site
tively. The presence of Zn in the leachate suggests that
the landfill receives waste from fluorescent lamps and bat- The water samples were analyzed to access the Cd, Cr, Pb,
teries (Kanmani and Gandhimathi 2013). Comparatively, Fe, Cu, and Zn concentration because they were character-
the Tiruchirappalli landfills recorded higher zinc levels of ized as unwanted heavy metals in drinking water (Nagarajan
4.80 mg/L (Kanmani and Gandhimathi 2013). This high et al. 2012) and can infiltrate into the water system. The
level at site ­L1 compared to ­L3 suggests the disposal of Pb heavy metal concentration of the borehole and well water
pipes, batteries, Pb-based paints, and chemicals for pho- samples is given in Table 6.
tograph processing at the landfill site (Mor et al. 2006; The concentration of heavy metals in the landfill leachate
Moturi et al. 2004). Varying heavy metal concentrations was significantly higher than that in the groundwater sam-
have been reported in landfill leachate (Abu-Daabes et al. ples. Along the groundwater flow direction, the concentra-
2013; Baun and Christensen 2004). Generally, Zn content tion of heavy metals varied depending on the site of the
in the MSW is higher than heavy metals, such as Cu (Long groundwater, which can be described in terms of the quality
et al. 2011). The current study suggests a relative higher Fe and quantity of the leachate itself and the impact of the lea-
level. The heavy metal levels in this study were higher than chate with its affected groundwater samples. The changes in
levels from Iran, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Pakistan (Aiman heavy metal associations in the groundwater can be attrib-
et al. 2016; de Oliveira et al. 2015; Wijesekara et al. 2014; uted to the proportion of several heavy metals from the lea-
Yao et al. 2014), while lower levels than those from India chate, which contains high levels of Fe, Pb, and Cd and a
and Bangladesh (Nagarajan et al. 2012; Rikta et al. 2018) relatively small proportion of Zn, Cr, and Cu. In addition to
were observed. Cu, Pb, and Cr concentrations were lower the large amount of heavy metal pollution originating from
than reported concentrations from Bosnia (Chakraborty leachate, the degradation of a large amount of biodegrad-
and Kumar 2016). able material in the landfills also played a role (Liao et al.

Table 6  Heavy metal concentrations in the borehole and well water samples around the Oti landfill site
Parameters Samples WHO (2011)
BH1 BH2 BH3 W1 W2 W3 W4
(mean ± SD) (mean ± SD) (mean ± SD) (mean ± SD) (mean ± SD) (mean ± SD) (mean ± SD)

Fe 2.292 ± 1.756 1.186 ± 0.632 0.957 ± 0.319 1.870 ± 0.532 1.428 ± 0.997 0.732 ± 0.030 0.902 ± 0.270 0.03

Pb 0.011 ± 0.008 0.010 ± 0.006 0.020 ± 0.001 0.076 ± 0.006 0.085 ± 0.002 0.083 ± 0.037 0.094 ± 0.017 0.01
Cd 0.033 ± 0.004 0.004 ± 0.003 0.002 ± 0.001 0.007 ± 0.002 0.019 ± 0.003 0.005 ± 0.001 0.020 ± 0.011 0.003
Zn 0.237 ± 0.076 0.070 ± 0.050 0.057 ± 0.025 0.607 ± 0.154 0.223 ± 0.135 0.465 ± 0.291 0.068 ± 0.021 3.00
Cr 0.039 ± 0.023 0.021 ± 0.018 0.004 ± 0.003 0.082 ± 0.033 0.052 ± 0.020 0.052 ± 0.023 0.053 ± 0.004 0.05
Cu 0.247 ± 0.014 0.014 ± 0.013 0.205 ± 0.022 0.040 ± 0.019 0.017 ± 0.007 0.023 ± 0.002 0.015 ± 0.002 2

All results are in mg/L

W well water, B borehole

13
Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33 Page 9 of 15  33

2016). Biodegradation involves the use of a large amount of Rizvi 2011). High Pb levels in the groundwater could be
oxidant, for example, oxygen, in the aquifer matrix, which due to the dumping of materials that contain lead batteries,
is in a relatively poorly ventilated groundwater table. This pipes, and paints at the landfill site. Higher concentration of
induces reducing conditions in the groundwater table, and Fe can cause aesthetic (Lamikanra 1999) and hemochroma-
the existing state of the affected groundwater by heavy met- tosis (Hopps 1972), especially when such water samples are
als is disturbed. This results in the heavy metals covering used for drinking. Pb levels higher than 0.01 mg/L can cause
unusually high quantities of large particles, activated and neurological damage in young children and fetus when such
non-activated colloids, and dissolved small particles. This water is used for drinking (WHO 2004). High levels of Pb
can cause the heavy metals to be adsorbed on the pore of can also cause brain damage and disruption of the nervous
the aquifer. The mean level of Fe in the borehole samples system (Bulut and Baysal 2006). The higher level of Cd can
ranged from 0.957 ± 0.319 mg/L at sampling site B ­ H3 to cause renal, arterial hypertension cramps, nausea, vomiting,
2.292 ± 1.756  mg/L at sampling site B ­ H1, while that of and diarrhea when such water is used for drinking purposes
the well water samples ranged from 0.732 ± 0.030 mg/L at (Lewis 1986). The concentrations of Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cr
sampling site ­W3 to 1.870 ± 0.532 mg/L at sampling site in the studied groundwater samples were comparable with
­W1. The mean Pb concentrations in the borehole water sam- earlier studies (Aiman et al. 2016; Chakraborty and Kumar
ples ranged between 0.010 ± 0.006 mg/L at sampling site 2016; Deshmukh and Aher 2016; Nagarajan et al. 2012;
­BH2 and 0.020 ± 0.001 mg/L at sampling site ­BH3, while Wijesekara et al. 2014). In Pakistan, Pb concentrations were
that of the well water ranged between 0.076 ± 0.006 mg/L reported higher than the present study (Aiman et al. 2016).
at sampling site ­W1 and 0.094 ± 0.017 mg/L at sampling Zn levels recorded in well water sources close to landfill
site ­W4. The mean levels of Cd in the borehole water sam- sites from the Tiruchirappalli District, India (Kanmani and
ples ranged between 0.002 ± 0.001 mg/L at sampling site Gandhimathi 2013), were higher than those in this study.
­BH3 and 0.033 ± 0.004 mg/L at sampling site ­BH1, while Also, the concentrations of Fe in the present study were
that of the well water ranged between 0.005 ± 0.001 mg/L lower than the 23.0 mg/L reported by Chofqi et al. (2004)
at sampling site ­W3 and 0.020 ± 0.011 mg/L at sampling in well water samples collected from El Jadida, Morocco.
site ­W4. The mean levels of Zn in the well water sam- Cr, Pb, and Cd levels were higher in this study than those
ples varied between 0.068 ± 0.021 mg/L at sampling site recorded in Bosnia, while Zn, Cu, and Fe concentrations
­W4 and 0.607 ± 0.154  mg/L at sampling site ­W1, while were lower than reported concentrations from Bosnia (Calo
that of the borehole ranged from 0.057 ± 0.025 at sam- and Parise 2009). The concentrations of Cr, Zn, and Cu in
pling site ­BH 3 to 0.237 ± 0.076  mg/L at sampling site groundwater of the main dump site were lower than those
­BH1. The mean level of Cr in the borehole water sam- recorded in Nigeria, Egypt, India, and China landfills (El-
ples ranged between 0.004 ± 0.003 mg/L at sampling site Salam and Abu-Zuid 2015; Han et al. 2014).
­BH3 and 0.039 ± 0.023 mg/L at sampling site ­BH1, while
that of the well water ranged from 0.052 ± 0.020 mg/L at
sampling site ­W2 to 0.082 ± 0.033 mg/L at sampling site Correlation analysis
­W 1. The mean levels of Cu in the well water samples
varied from 0.015 ± 0.002  mg/L at sampling site ­W4 to Heavy metal distribution is closely related to organic matter
0.040 ± 0.019 mg/L at sampling site ­W1, while that of the and other pollutants in leachates (Wu et al. 2011). A correla-
borehole water samples ranged between 0.014 ± 0.013 mg/L tion analysis was used to establish the relationships, as well
at sampling site ­BH2 and 0.247 ± 0.014 mg/L at sampling as evaluating their common sources of the detected heavy
site ­BH1. metals in the underground water samples. The Pearson cor-
The levels of Zn, Cr, and Cu in most of the groundwater relation analysis results are presented in Table 7a, b.
samples were below the WHO acceptable limit of 3.0, 0.05, The Pearson correlation analysis revealed a strong posi-
and 2 mg/L for drinking water, respectively (WHO 2011). tive correlation between Zn and Cd (r = 1.00, p < 0.01) in
However, the groundwater samples collected from the Oti the borehole water samples (Table 7a). This suggests that
community area exhibited higher Fe, Pb, and Cd concen- Zn and Cd are derived from the same source. In the well
trations as compared to the WHO permitted value of 0.3, water samples, a negative correlation detected between Zn
0.01, and 0.003 mg/L for drinking water, respectively (WHO and Pb (r = − 0.95, p < 0.05) suggests that both metals are
2011). This study suggests that the main possible source influenced by different anthropogenic activities (Table 7b).
of heavy metals in dump site and surrounding groundwater The inter-elemental correlation between other variables was
can be attributed to leachate percolation through the unlined strong (r ≥± 0.70), but not significantly (p > 0.05). Poor cor-
waste dump site. The study area was surrounded by waste- relation could be attributed to differences in mixed sources
water tributaries and dump sites, which may have an influ- of origin and behavior of those heavy metals, as well as an
ence on high levels of reported heavy metals (Basharat and anthropogenic influence (Sappa et al. 2014).

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Table 7  Correlation coefficients Fe Pb Cd Zn Cr Cu
between the measured
parameters of the (a) borehole (a)
water samples and (b) well
 Fe 1
water samples
 Pb − 0.559 1
 Cd 0.995 − 0.471 1
 Zn 0.995 − 0.477 1.000a 1
 Cr 0.941 − 0.807 0.901 0.904 1
 Cu 0.508 0.430 0.594 0.588 0.185 1
(b)
 Fe 1
 Pb − 0.669 1
 Cd − 0.079 0.759 1
 Zn 0.466 − 0.950b − 0.917 1
 Cr 0.815 − 0.744 − 0.473 0.718 1
 Cu 0.698 − 0.885 − 0.723 0.902 0.947 1
a
 Correlation was significant at the 0.01 level
b
 Correlation was significant at the 0.05 level

Table 8  Principal component analysis of borehole and well water In this study, Bartlett’s test of sphericity and KMO were
samples (n = 42) used to test the feasibility of PCA. The PCA result showed a
Parameters Borehole samples Hand-dug well smaller partial correlation between variables (KMO = 0.625)
samples and a high dependence (p < 0.01). Generally, a p-value
PC1 PC2 PC1 PC2 lower than 0.05 and a KMO value higher than 0.5 could
be accepted as suitable for PCA. Two components with
Fe 0.999 0.046 0.058 0.983 eigenvalues > 1 were found in the borehole water samples,
Pb − 0.597 0.802 − 0.758 − 0.585 explaining 97.99% of the total variance. The PC1 having
Cd 0.989 0.149 − 0.998 − 0.030 74.06% of the total variance was strongly correlated with
Zn 0.990 0.142 0.910 0.407 Fe, Cd, Zn, and Cr. The presence of Zn, Cr, Cd, and Fe
Cr 0.955 − 0.296 0.432 0.854 in the study area could be attributed to the anthropogenic
Cu 0.467 0.884 0.694 0.699 origin, such as atmospheric depositions, domestic wastes,
Eigenvalue 4.443 1.557 4.647 1.117 traffic sources municipal sewage, and industrial activities.
% of variance 74.055 23.936 77.456 18.609 High Cd level was mainly induced by industrial waste from
Cumulative % 74.055 97.991 77.456 96.065 paint (Frickel and Elliott 2008), and anthropogenic waste
High loadings are indicated in bold (Mann et al. 2002). However, Pb showed negative loading
(− 0.597). The Cr association is predicted to affect by litho-
genic effect, as well as natural input in the study area. Thus,
Potential sources of heavy metals PC1 could be contributed by anthropogenic and lithology
component. The PC2 explained variance of 23.94% with
PCA has proved as an effective technique for offering vital significant loadings of Pd and Cu. The industrial waste and
information concerning heavy metal pathways and sources the discharge of leachate treatment plants were suggested as
(Hou et al. 2013). The principal component was applied the major sources of Pb. Thus, PC2 could be contributed by
to the transformed data matrix to better comprehend the the anthropogenic component.
analyzed parameters, as well as decreasing the high dimen- In the hand-dug well water samples, two principal com-
sionality of the variable space. The Kaiser normalization ponents were extracted, which accounted for 96.07% of the
was used to determine the number of components, for total variance. The PC1 with 77.46% of the total variance
which components having eigenvalues > 1 were retained. was positively related to Zn and Cu. High loadings of Cu
Components loadings of < 0.5 show poor loadings, 0.5 could be due to Cu-containing agrochemicals (D’Adamo
designated moderate loadings, and > 0.5 denotes high et al. 2014). Moreover, the presence of Zn could be due to
loadings. The results of the principal components analy- the disposal of batteries, paints, and cosmetics in the landfill
sis in the boreholes and hand-dug water samples area are sites. PC2 with 18.61% of the total variance showed high
given in Table 8. loadings of Fe, Cr, and Cu. However, Cd and Pb revealed no

13
Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33 Page 11 of 15  33

strong correlations between the other heavy metals, suggest- Table 10  Pollution evaluation index of borehole and well water sam-
ing their different chemical and physical process. ples collected from the Oti community
Water samples Sample number HPI Cd HEI
Human health risk assessment of the borehole Boreholes BH1 37.68 26.79 30.87
and the well water samples BH2 12.35 10.93 14.38
BH3 9.48 15.79 19.08
The human health risk assessment was evaluated using Hand-dug wells W1 21.39 59.99 64.15
the USEPA risk assessment method (USEPA IRIS 2011). W2 23.10 67.18 71.24
Table 9 shows a summary of HI on the health of consumers W3 9.11 57.70 61.82
of water from borehole and well water samples in the Oti W4 18.44 70.90 74.93
community.
Hazard quotients values for the detected heavy metals in
the borehole samples were 0.026, 0.075, 0.022, 0.048, 0.318,
The HPI values in the borehole samples ranged from 9.48
and 0.005 for Fe, Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, and Zn, respectively. In
in ­BH3 to 37.68 in B­ H1. In the well water samples, the HPI
the hand-dug wells, the hazard quotients values were 0.022,
values were between 9.11 and 21.39 in samples from ­W3
0.209, 0.007, 0.296, 0.312, and 0.014 for Fe, Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd,
and ­W1 sites, respectively. The HPI results suggested that
and Zn, respectively (Table 9). The hazard quotient values in
all the borehole and well water samples were less than the
all the groundwater samples were all < 1, and this suggests
critical limit of 100 for drinking water (Prasad and Bose
no adverse health effects even if the water is used for drink-
2001). Moreover, the intensity of pollution progressively
ing. The HI values were 0.494 and 0.860 for the boreholes
decreased from the landfill site to the downstream part of the
and hand-dug wells, respectively. The HI values recorded
groundwater samples. The HPI values from this study were
at sites ­BH1 and ­W4 were > 1, suggesting adverse health
lower than the HPI value of 518.55 and 250.77 reported by
effects. The risk assessment suggested that Cd caused more
Ojekunle et al. (2016) and Bhuiyan et al. (2015), respec-
pollution due to its high HI value. Exposure to high levels
tively. The degree of contamination was widely used as a
of Cd is associated with renal, arterial hypertension cramps,
reference method for estimating the extent of heavy metal
nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (Ashraf 2012).
pollution in water samples (Rubio et al. 2000). The degree
Because of the lack of carcinogenic SF of Fe, Cu, Zn, and
of contamination values in the borehole and well water sam-
Cd, only the slope factor for Pb is available in the literature.
ples ranged from 10.93 to 26.79 and 57.70 to 70.90, respec-
The RI values of Pb in the borehole and well water samples
tively, as presented in Table 10. According to Backman et al.
were recorded at 1.33 × 10−3 and 8.24 × 10−3, respectively.
(1998), the degree of contamination of water samples can be
Moreover, the RI values of Cr in the borehole and well water
classified as high, since all the samples recorded Cd values
samples were 0.12 and 0.34, respectively. The RI values of
greater than 3. The range and mean value of Cd (0.25–14.80
Pb and Cr in the borehole and well water samples were
and 4.12, respectively) reported by Bhuiyan et al. (2015)
> 10−6, suggesting possible carcinogenic risk.
were lower than those in the hand-dug wells and boreholes
samples at B ­ H1 and B­ H3 sites. The HEI values ranged from
Pollution evaluation indices 14.38 to 30.87 for borehole water samples. In the well water,
the HEI values were between 64.15 and 74.93 (Table 10).
The HPI, Cd, and HEI were evaluated using the average val- The proposed heavy metal evaluation index criteria are clas-
ues of heavy metals in the borehole and well water samples. sified as low (HEI < 10), medium (HEI = 10–20), and high
The pollution evaluation index results are given in Table 10. (HEI > 20) (Edet and Offiong 2002). Based on the above

Table 9  Hazard quotient and Water samples HQ HI

overall hazard indexes of
groundwater samples from Cr Fe Cu Pb Zn Cd
boreholes and hand-dug wells
samples in the Oti community BH1 0.136 0.040 0.001 0.039 0.010 0.808 1.033
BH2 0.074 0.021 0.004 0.035 0.003 0.098 0.234
BH3 0.014 0.017 0.063 0.070 0.002 0.049 0.215
W1 0.287 0.033 0.012 0.266 0.025 0.171 0.794
W2 0.182 0.025 0.005 0.297 0.009 0.465 0.984
W3 0.182 0.013 0.007 0.290 0.019 0.122 0.634
W4 0.185 0.016 0.005 0.329 0.003 0.490 1.027

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 33   Page 12 of 15 Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33

Table 11  Single-factor and a Codes Single-factor index Metal index

metal index of underground
water samples collected from Fe Pb Cd Zn Cr Cu
the Oti Community
BH1 7.64 1.10 11.00 0.08 0.78 0.12 20.72
BH2 3.95 1.00 1.33 0.02 0.42 0.01 6.73
BH3 3.19 2.00 0.67 0.02 0.08 0.10 6.06
W1 6.23 8.00 3.33 0.20 1.60 0.02 19.38
W2 4.77 9.00 6.67 0.07 1.00 0.01 21.52
W3 2.43 8.00 3.33 0.16 1.00 0.01 14.93
W4 3.00 9.00 6.67 0.02 1.00 0.01 19.7

classification, the heavy metal evaluation index results sug- signifying adverse health effects. The HI value for Cd at ­BH1
gest that borehole samples at ­BH2 and B ­ H3 sites fall within sampling point was the most pollutants of non-carcinogenic
the medium zone, while groundwater samples at ­BH1, ­W1, concerns. The heavy metal pollution index values calculated
­W2, ­W3, and W­ 4 sites fall within the high zone of heavy for the borehole and well water samples were far less than
metal contamination. The HEI values ranging from 5.34 to the critical index limit of 100. However, the heavy metal
43.49 with a mean value of 24.75 reported by Bhuiyan et al. evaluation index and the degree of contamination suggest
(2015) are comparable with those in this study. contamination of all the well water samples. Moreover,
the Cd values for all the boreholes were > 3 and the HEI
Single‑factor and a metal index in underground value at site ­BH1 was also greater than 20, suggesting high
water heavy metal contamination at these sites. The MI result also
computed to be > 6 suggests that the selected groundwater
Using the water quality standards for WHO, the over-limit samples were seriously polluted with heavy metals. This
ratio of heavy metal and its pollution index was calculated study further predicted the impact of anthropogenic sources
in the underground water samples (WHO 2011). Over-limit of the pollution load of groundwater in the Oti community.
ratio value > 0.1 suggests a threshold warning (Zhaoyong The WQI showed that all the well water samples and bore-
et al. 2015). The results, presented in Table 11, suggested hole samples at ­BH1 and ­BH2 sites fall under the poor water
that the over-limit ratio of Fe, Cd, Pb, and Cr in most of the quality category, suggesting that water from B ­ H1 and B­ H2
water samples was above 0.1, rendering the water unaccep- sites and all the well water samples may not be suitable for
table for drinking. drinking. Multivariate analysis suggested anthropogenic and
According to metal index values, all the selected sites lithogenic factors as the possible source of water pollution
except ­BH3 were seriously polluted with heavy metals since of the heavy metal in the study area. Thus, multivariate sta-
the metal index values were greater than 6 as classified by tistical techniques could be a beneficial tool for an evalua-
Lyulko et al. (2001). The above observation suggests the tion of the possible source of heavy metal pollution. The
impact of anthropogenic sources of the pollution load of high levels of heavy metal suggest considerable pollution of
groundwater in the Oti community. groundwater by leachate percolation from the landfill site;
therefore, we believe there is a need for new policies and
methods, such as (1) the design of suitable management of
Conclusion selective collection and recycling of solid wastes, (2) col-
lection and treatment systems at controlled landfill sites to
The levels of Fe, Pb, and Cd had their average concentra- reduce leachate impact on human health so that heavy metal
tion in all the well water samples above the recommended and other pollution exposure situations can be prevented, (3)
maximum admissible limits approved by WHO for drink- leachate collection and retardation of its movement via the
ing water. In addition, Cr level at ­W1 site was above the design of new dumping sites with proper foundations, and
maximum admissible limits. The level of Fe in all the bore- finally, (4) open dumps must be closed and covered to mini-
hole water samples was above the WHO permitted level. In mize the penetration of precipitation into the landfill sites
addition, the levels of Pb at ­BH3 and Cd at ­BH1 and ­BH2 and leachate generation. The present observations can be of
sites were also above the maximum limit. The health risk great significance in countries where there are inappropriate
assessment of heavy metal in the borehole and well water practices in solid waste management.
samples recorded hazard quotient values that were < 1, sug-
gesting an acceptable non-carcinogenic adverse health risk. Acknowledgements  The authors are very grateful to the National
Council for Tertiary Education (NTCE), Ghana, for a research
However, hazard index values at ­BH1 and ­W4 sites were > 1,

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Applied Water Science (2019) 9:33 Page 13 of 15  33

Grant under the Teaching and Learning Innovation Fund (TALIFK- Assaad E et al (2007) Metal removal through synergic coagulation–
NUSTR/3/005/2005). The authors are also grateful to J. Stanley-Owusu flocculation using an optimized chitosan–montmorillonite sys-
and Company Limited for granting access to the Oti landfill site. tem. Appl Clay Sci 37:258–274
Awasthi AK, Zeng X, Li J (2016) Environmental pollution of elec-
Authors’ contribution  All the authors contributed equally to the prep- tronic waste recycling in India: a critical review. Environ Pollut
aration of this manuscript. All authors read and approved the final 211:259–270
manuscript. Azizi AB, Choy MY, Noor ZM, Noorlidah A (2015) Effect on heavy
metals concentration from vermiconversion of agro-waste mixed
with landfill leachate. Waste Manag 38:431–435
Compliance with ethical standards  Backman B, Bodiš D, Lahermo P, Rapant S, Tarvainen T (1998) Appli-
cation of a groundwater contamination index in Finland and Slo-
Conflict of interest  The authors declare that they have no conflict of vakia. Environ Geol 36:55–64
interest. Basharat M, Rizvi SA (2011) Groundwater extraction and waste water
disposal regulation. Is Lahore Aquifer at stake with as usual
Open Access  This article is distributed under the terms of the Crea- approach. In: Pakistan engg. congress; world water day, April
tive Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creat​iveco​ 2011, pp 112–134
mmons​.org/licen​ses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribu- Baun DL, Christensen TH (2004) Speciation of heavy metals in landfill
tion, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate leachate: a review. Waste Manag Res 22:3–23
credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Bhuiyan MAH, Dampare SB, Islam M, Suzuki S (2015) Source appor-
Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. tionment and pollution evaluation of heavy metals in water and
sediments of Buriganga River, Bangladesh, using multivariate
analysis and pollution evaluation indices. Environ Monit Assess
187:1–21
Bulut Y, Baysal Z (2006) Removal of Pb(II) from wastewater using
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