AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT ON SOILS AND POPULATION BY SOLID WASTE DUMPSITES IN THE BAMENDA URBAN SPACE OF THE NORTH WEST REGION, CAMEROON

Urban settlements generate a lot of wastes that need to be constantly cleared and well-treated. However, when such wastes are poorly located and inadequately treated, they constitute a potent hazard on the environment even after many years of closure of the dumpsite. This paper evaluates the long-term effects of solid waste dumpsites on the immediate environment in the rapidly expanding regional headquarters of the North West of Cameroon. Solid waste dumpsites are within built-up and densely populated areas. With time, the waste undergoes decomposition producing leachate that seeps into soils. To evaluate the impact on soils, 4 composite soil samples were collected at Mbelewa dumpsite, 3 at Mile 6 dumpsites at depths between 0cm to 105cm and analysed. There was a control sample undertaken 300m from Mile 6 dumpsite. Questionnaires were administered to household heads living within 50-300m from the dumpsites using a random sampling approach. Results show that there was more heavy metal pollution at Mile 6 dumpsite while Zinc exhibited a very high level of contamination of 1225.95µg/g at Mbelewa dumpsite. Findings further reveal odour and flies as the most dominant environmental problems within 0.5 km of the dumpsites. Common illnesses such as malaria and typhoid were the most dominant health hazards. Based on the negative impact of the dumpsites on the environment, the study proposes the need for the municipal authorities to always conduct an á priori study of site suitability, analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) so as to reduce the impact on the environment.