TITLE:
Heavy Metal Contents of Different Wastes Used for Compost
AUTHORS:
Tazeen Fatima Khan, Mohammed Waji Ullah, Shah Muhammad Imamul Huq
KEYWORDS:
Heavy Metal, Compost, Primary Data, Secondary Data, Correlation
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering,
Vol.4 No.3,
May
30,
2016
ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to assess the heavy metal (As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Hg) contents of different
sources of wastes generated in Dhaka city which was further used for a compost plant. The
study consisted of both field survey and laboratory analyses. Relevant primary and secondary
sources of data were collected to identify the source and nature of wastes generated near the
compost plant. A total of eight households, ten officers and ten waste collectors were surveyed for
data collection. For laboratory analyses, wastes from various socio-economic niches (lower, lower
middle, middle and high) were collected. The result showed that wastes generated in the lower
income niche contained the minimum contents of heavy metals compared to middle and high
niches. The increasing trend of heavy metal contents of the wastes from lower to high income
groups has been found to be linked to the life style, attitude, profession, culture and food habit.
Most of the heavy metals did not meet the standard level for almost all the niches. Most of the correlations
were found to be insignificant between the contents of nutrient element (C, N and P) and
heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Hg).