Bioavailability and health risk of pollutants around a controlled landfill in Morocco: Synergistic effects of landfilling and intensive agriculture

Hamza El Fadili; Mohammed Ben Ali; Md Naimur Rahman; Mohammed El Mahi; El Mostapha Lotfi; Sami Louki

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23729

Bioavailability and health risk of pollutants around a controlled landfill in Morocco: Synergistic effects of landfilling and intensive agriculture

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 19;10(1):e23729. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23729. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Hamza El Fadili¹, Mohammed Ben Ali¹, Md Naimur Rahman², Mohammed El Mahi¹, El Mostapha Lotfi¹, Sami Louki¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Spectroscopy, Molecular Modeling, Materials, Nanomaterials, Water and Environment, Materials for Environment Team, ENSAM, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco.
² Center for Archaeological Studies, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Toxic contamination of agricultural soils by trace metal(oid)s can pose detrimental effects on human health and agroecological systems. In this view, the current research explored total and available metal(oid)s in surface soils and assessed the associated hazards using pollution indices, PMF modeling, PCA, and Montecarlo probabilistic human risk assessment with 10,000 repetitions. The mean concentrations of Cd, Pb, As, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Fe were 0.89, 24.86, 1.81, 19.10, 25.44, 7.98, 49.12 and 6183.32 mg kg^-1 dry weight, respectively. These findings highlighted that the concentration of pollutants exceeded the values measured in the geochemical background. Soil enrichment by heavy metal (oid)s was confirmed by analyzing available fractions using DTPA ,CaCl₂ and enrichment factor (EF). Additionally, pollution indicators (Igeo, PLI, and PERI) displayed significant contamination levels, with a higher ecological risk. Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor and multivariate statistical analysis reflected that anthropogenic activities, particularly landfilling and agricultural practices were the main causes of the contamination. Furthermore, probabilistic and deterministic human risk assessments showed that carcinogenic risks exceeded the threshold values (10^-4) set by the USEPA. Consequently, it is crucial to implement continuous monitoring and supervision of landfill sites to prevent additional pollution. These measures should be integrated into the management plans for waste management.

Keywords: Available fraction; Heavy metals; Human health risk; Montecarlo simulation; Sensitivity analysis; Soil pollution indices.