Environmental Impact of Open Burning of Municipal Solid Wastes Dumps in Parts of Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

Refuse dumpsites are found scattered within and outside cities in Nigeria and the open burning of these dumps is a common practice mainly as a waste and odour reduction measure. Open incineration of wastes emits dangerous gases into the atmosphere. The environmental and public health hazards related to open burning of wastes dumps have often been overlooked in most parts of Nigeria and there is limited documentation on this for the study area. This study is aimed at investigating the environmental effect of the burning of open refuse dumps at five locations within Jos Metropolis, Nigeria. Air quality in and around the study area were measured. The results showed that the oxygen levels for all the locations for the different conditions tested ranged between 14.2% and 17.5%. This showed that whether the dumpsites were burning or not the oxygen levels within the vicinity were below the comfortable level of 19.5%. CO levels ranged between 2ppm – 9ppm with the maximum value of 9ppm measured at Apata when the refuse containing some plastics was burning. The values of CO may not be significant but the duration of exposure may make a difference on public healthas most of the dumpsites are located within residential and commercial areas. CO2 values, which ranged between 361ppm to 700ppm, are all higher than standard acceptable levels of 350ppm. The implication is that burning refuse in the open increases the quantity of CO and CO2 in the atmosphere which will likely be of adverse health implication to the residents living close to such areas. It can be concluded that existence and burning of open refuse dumps contributed to the increase in values of air quality parameters measured around the dumpsites. To avert the harmful effects of indiscriminate dumping and burning of solid wastes within residential, commercial and other areas, it is recommended that there should be improvement in solid wastes management in Jos city and environs among other necessary measures.