| dc.description.abstract | Soil samples were collected from electronic waste dismantling sites in Kampala city were analyzed for toxic metal concentrations, pH, electroconductivity, and soil texture. The samples were analyzed for Copper, Lead, Zinc, Chromium, Cadmium, Nickel and Iron using a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Results indicated that the copper concentration ranged from (0.26mg/kg of Cu/kg of soil to 20.70mg/kg of Cu/kg of soil) for composite 9>4>10>2,3>6>5>8>1>7; the zinc concentration ranged from (0.25mg/kg of Zn/kg of soil to 138.35mg/kg of Zn/kg of soil) for composite 4>3>2>5>1>8>9>10>6>7; the iron concentration ranged from (0.44mg/kg of Fe/kg of soil to 741.50mg/kg of Fe/kg of soil) for composite 4>2>3>6>5>9>10>1>8>7; the lead concentration ranged from (2.80mg/kg of Pb/kg of soil to 27.50mg/kg of Pb/kg of soil) for composite 3>4>2>5>10>6>9>8>1>7; then chromium concentration ranged from (0.00mg/kg of Cr/kg of soil to 0.78mg/kg of Cr/kg of soil) for composite 10>9>5>4>6>3>8>1,2,3; nickel concentration ranged from (0.93mg/kg of Ni/kg of soil to 6.69mg/kg of Ni/kg of soil) for composite 2>3>5>10>9>6>8>4>1>7; and finally, cadmium concentration ranged from (0.16mg/kg of Cd/kg of soil to 0.73mg/kg of Cd/kg of soil) for composite 9>8>3>6>1>2>4>5>10,7. The results show that samples collected from Kiteezi landfill are generally more concentrated in Iron, Zinc, Lead, Copper and Nickel, followed by samples from Nalukolongo and lastly, samples from Katwe. Concentrations of cadmium and chromium were generally low in toxic metals in Katwe and Nalukolongo compared to Kiteezi. Composite 2 (Soil samples from Area 1 (Spot samples 3 and 4)) had a pH of 7.43 which is within the normal range (5.50 and 7.50), and the rest of the soil composite samples 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9 and 10 are above the normal range. The electroconductivity measurements indicates that the composite soil samples generally have too low electroconductivity values since there are all below the optimal electro conductivity levels of the soil ranges (110 – 570 millisiemen per meter (mS/m)). All the 10 composite soil samples from the three electronic waste dismantling sites indicate a high percentage composition of the sand soil. The levels of toxic metals negatively depended on the pH value of extracted solution and the relationship is described as linearly. | en_US |
