Cargando…

Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Heavy metals in high concentrations can cause health and environmental damage. Nanosilver is an emerging heavy metal which has a bright future of use in many applications. Here we report on the levels of silver and other heavy metals in municipal sewage sludge. Five towns in Limpopo province of Sout...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Shamuyarira, Kudakwashe K., Gumbo, Jabulani R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986993/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24595211
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110302569
_version_ 1782311808001900544
author Shamuyarira, Kudakwashe K.
Gumbo, Jabulani R.
author_facet Shamuyarira, Kudakwashe K.
Gumbo, Jabulani R.
author_sort Shamuyarira, Kudakwashe K.
collection PubMed
description Heavy metals in high concentrations can cause health and environmental damage. Nanosilver is an emerging heavy metal which has a bright future of use in many applications. Here we report on the levels of silver and other heavy metals in municipal sewage sludge. Five towns in Limpopo province of South Africa were selected and the sludge from their wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was collected and analysed. The acid digested sewage sludge samples were analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods. The concentrations of silver found were low, but significant, in the range 0.22 to 21.93 mg/kg dry mass. The highest concentration of silver was found in Louis Trichardt town with a concentration of 21.93 ± 0.38 mg/kg dry mass while the lowest was Thohoyandou with a concentration of 6.13 ± 0.12 mg/kg dry mass. A control sludge sample from a pit latrine had trace levels of silver at 0.22 ± 0.01 mg/kg dry mass. The result showed that silver was indeed present in the wastewater sewage sludge and at present there is no DWAF guideline standard. The average Cd concentration was 3.10 mg/kg dry mass for Polokwane municipality. Polokwane and Louis Trichardt municipalities exhibited high levels of Pb, in excess DWAF guidelines, in sludge at 102.83 and 171.87 mg/kg respectfully. In all the WWTPs the zinc and copper concentrations were in excess of DWAF guidelines. The presence of heavy metals in the sewage sludge in excess of DWAF guidelines presents environmental hazards should the sludge be applied as a soil ameliorant.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-3986993
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2014
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-39869932014-04-15 Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa Shamuyarira, Kudakwashe K. Gumbo, Jabulani R. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Heavy metals in high concentrations can cause health and environmental damage. Nanosilver is an emerging heavy metal which has a bright future of use in many applications. Here we report on the levels of silver and other heavy metals in municipal sewage sludge. Five towns in Limpopo province of South Africa were selected and the sludge from their wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was collected and analysed. The acid digested sewage sludge samples were analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods. The concentrations of silver found were low, but significant, in the range 0.22 to 21.93 mg/kg dry mass. The highest concentration of silver was found in Louis Trichardt town with a concentration of 21.93 ± 0.38 mg/kg dry mass while the lowest was Thohoyandou with a concentration of 6.13 ± 0.12 mg/kg dry mass. A control sludge sample from a pit latrine had trace levels of silver at 0.22 ± 0.01 mg/kg dry mass. The result showed that silver was indeed present in the wastewater sewage sludge and at present there is no DWAF guideline standard. The average Cd concentration was 3.10 mg/kg dry mass for Polokwane municipality. Polokwane and Louis Trichardt municipalities exhibited high levels of Pb, in excess DWAF guidelines, in sludge at 102.83 and 171.87 mg/kg respectfully. In all the WWTPs the zinc and copper concentrations were in excess of DWAF guidelines. The presence of heavy metals in the sewage sludge in excess of DWAF guidelines presents environmental hazards should the sludge be applied as a soil ameliorant. MDPI 2014-03-03 2014-03 /pmc/articles/PMC3986993/ /pubmed/24595211 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110302569 Text en © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Shamuyarira, Kudakwashe K.
Gumbo, Jabulani R.
Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_full Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_fullStr Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_short Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa
title_sort assessment of heavy metals in municipal sewage sludge: a case study of limpopo province, south africa
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986993/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24595211
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110302569
work_keys_str_mv AT shamuyarirakudakwashek assessmentofheavymetalsinmunicipalsewagesludgeacasestudyoflimpopoprovincesouthafrica
AT gumbojabulanir assessmentofheavymetalsinmunicipalsewagesludgeacasestudyoflimpopoprovincesouthafrica