Assessment of pollution potentials of slaughterhouse wastes on physicochemical properties of soil in Ebonyi State Nigeria

In Nigeria, almost all industries produce waste, which is typically disposed of with often little consideration given to environmentally friendly procedures. This study assessed the potential impact of pollution by slaughterhouse wastes on specific soil particle distribution, texture, physicochemical properties, and heavy metal concentrations in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Samples of soil were taken at depths of 0–20 cm, and were examined using standard laboratory techniques. The results obtained from the determination of soil particle size distribution and textures were found to indicate a categorization of sandy loam in all the locations studied. The results indicate that slaughterhouse wastes decreased soil bulk density while increasing soil total porosity and gravimetric moisture contents in all the slaughterhouse soils compared to soils of the control locality. The mean soil pH values around the slaughterhouse (5.70–5.78, 5.13–5.25, and 5.47–5.59) were observed to be lower than the mean pH values (6.08–6.09) of soils of the control site, which indicated that the slaughterhouse soils are acidic in nature. Soils located around the slaughterhouse had higher exchangeable sodium (Na) and the lowest levels of exchangeable calcium (Ca) than soils of the control areas. The highest amounts of heavy metal contents were recorded in soils around the slaughterhouses, indicating that the presence of slaughterhouse wastes correlated with the soil's accumulation of heavy metals. Based on the foregoing results, it is submitted that slaughterhouse wastes should be treated using anaerobic digestion before being released into the environment, since they have a significant potential for pollution.