Assessment of human health risk due to leachate contaminated soil at solid waste dumpsite,Kanpur(India)

The open dumpsite is often the preferred option for waste disposal in most developing economies, but this option has severe environmental threats. For Kanpur city, being a hot tropical urban city, the generation of landfill gasses and secretion of leachate may be a factor in health concerns for the population on-site and vicinity of the dumpsites. In this study, leachate samples were collected in three different seasons: pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon season in the year 2021, and then analyzed for their physicochemical properties. The pollution potential was assessed in terms of the leachate pollution index. Its calculated index values for these three seasons were found as 6.44, 6.91, and 6.55, respectively. Based on the index values, it can be observed that the overall pollution potential of leachate was low but it was highest in the monsoon season. Hierarchical cluster analysis was also carried out to identify different clusters of parameters contributing to the index values. In addition, a study has also been done for the assessment of non-carcinogenic health risk in terms of hazard index due to on-site contaminated soil for the working population. The analysis shows that a child as a receptor poses a considerable non-carcinogenic health risk, but an adult is under non-potential health risk. However, prolonged exposure to adults might have damaging consequences like kidney failure, laxative, constipation, etc. The results of the study may help the professionals deal with waste disposal management and related technical aspects.