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

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  • Kudakwashe K. Shamuyarira

    (Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Venda, P/Bag x5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa)

  • Jabulani R. Gumbo

    (Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Venda, P/Bag x5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Kudakwashe K. Shamuyarira & Jabulani R. Gumbo, 2014. "Assessment of Heavy Metals in Municipal Sewage Sludge: A Case Study of Limpopo Province, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-11, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:3:p:2569-2579:d:33573
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jerry E. Sibiya & Jabulani Ray Gumbo, 2013. "Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) Survey on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Selected Schools in Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-14, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Baoling Duan & Qiang Feng, 2022. "Risk Assessment and Potential Analysis of the Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge in Central Shanxi Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Lian Chen & Genmei Wang & Shaohua Wu & Zhen Xia & Zhenang Cui & Chunhui Wang & Shenglu Zhou, 2019. "Heavy Metals in Agricultural Soils of the Lihe River Watershed, East China: Spatial Distribution, Ecological Risk, and Pollution Source," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Yan Li & Hua Yu & Siqian Zheng & Yang Miao & Shi Yin & Peng Li & Ying Bian, 2016. "Direct Quantification of Rare Earth Elements Concentrations in Urine of Workers Manufacturing Cerium, Lanthanum Oxide Ultrafine and Nanoparticles by a Developed and Validated ICP-MS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-10, March.
    4. Małgorzata Czatzkowska & Izabela Wolak & Monika Harnisz & Ewa Korzeniewska, 2022. "Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on the Dissemination of ARGs in the Environment—A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-29, October.
    5. Baoling Duan & Fenwu Liu & Wuping Zhang & Haixia Zheng & Qiang Zhang & Xiaomei Li & Yushan Bu, 2015. "Evaluation and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals (HMs) in Sewage Sludge of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in Shanxi, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Zhenyi Jia & Shenglu Zhou & Quanlong Su & Haomin Yi & Junxiao Wang, 2017. "Comparison Study on the Estimation of the Spatial Distribution of Regional Soil Metal(loid)s Pollution Based on Kriging Interpolation and BP Neural Network," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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