SRINAGAR (Kashmir): A comprehensive year-long study has uncovered severe soil degradation around the Achan landfill in Srinagar, Kashmir, raising concerns about food security and public health in the region. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, reveals that toxic leachate seeping from the improperly managed dumpsite is contaminating surrounding soils with dangerous levels of heavy metals.
The study, conducted by researchers from SKUAST Kashmir and King Saud University, monitored soil quality across all four seasons at varying distances from the 75-acre landfill. Their findings revealed that Cadmium levels exceeded permissible limits at all sites across all seasons, with concentrations reaching up to 5.89 mg/kg, more than seven times the safe limit of 0.8 mg/kg.
Lead concentrations hit 98.3 mg/kg during summer months, surpassing the 85 mg/kg threshold, while nickel levels peaked at 42.10 mg/kg during summer, exceeding the 35 mg/kg safety standard.
"Soil is an important asset as it is the key factor for food production," the researchers note, emphasising that contaminants from soil enter the food chain and ultimately reach humans.
Warning about serious ecological and health impact, the research endorses a Kashmir Times investigation on the increasing respiratory and other diseases faced by the people living in close proximity to the Achan landfill site.
Srinagar city alone generates 450 metric tonnes of waste daily, with projections suggesting this will surge to 1,723 metric tonnes per day by 2035. Currently, approximately 62% of this waste is organic material, with only 65-70% being properly collected through door-to-door methods. The remaining waste is illegally dumped in depressions, river embankments, or burned locally.
The Achan landfill, operational since 1986, sits amid nine residential villages, directly impacting local communities. Once a thriving wetland home to vibrant birds and lush green vegetation, Achan has become a source of pollution, contaminating water bodies, air, and soil.
The Achan landfill situation reflects a wider crisis in waste management across developing nations. Worldwide municipal solid waste generation reached 1.3 billion tons per year in 2018 and is expected to reach approximately 2.2 billion tons by 2025.
Kashmir Valley faces particular challenges. Srinagar produces the highest annual waste at 236,732.75 metric tonnes, with the total across monitored districts reaching 57,199.99 metric tonnes annually. With limited infrastructure and rapid urbanization, the region struggles to manage this growing burden.
The research team, led by Shayesta Islam and Haleema Bano, discovered significant seasonal patterns in contamination levels. Heavy metal concentrations peaked during summer months due to increased microbial activity and favourable temperature conditions that accelerate waste decomposition. Winter saw lower concentrations, attributed to dilution from precipitation runoff.
Distance from the landfill proved crucial. At the center of the dumpsite, researchers recorded electrical conductivity of 3.04 dS/m, moisture content of 42.51%, lead levels of 85.02 mg/kg, and Chromium at 23.37 mg/kg and arsenic at 14.10 mg/kg.
These levels decreased with distance but remained elevated even at sites outside the immediate dumping area.
The soil acidification caused by leachate has far-reaching consequences, the scientists note. The pH values ranged from 6.1 to 6.9, with more acidic conditions at the dumpsite centre due to organic acid production from decomposing matter. This acidification decreases the availability of essential plant nutrients like phosphorus while increasing the availability of toxic elements.
The research highlights multiple pathways of harm, including plant toxicity, nutrient imbalance and micronutrient complications.
Cadmium disrupts nutrient and water absorption, heightens oxidative stress, and impairs plant metabolism, negatively impacting plant morphology and physiology. Lead inhibits ATP production, elevates reactive oxygen species levels, and causes DNA damage, significantly affecting germination, root elongation, and chlorophyll synthesis.
The study found nitrogen concentrations up to 320.49 mg/kg, phosphorus at 87.36 mg/kg, and potassium at 301.28 mg/kg at the dumpsite center. While these are plant nutrients, excessive levels can be harmful.
Elevated zinc (up to 3.57 mg/kg), iron (12.51 mg/kg), copper (2.72 mg/kg), and manganese (11.83 mg/kg) were recorded, with researchers noting that excess amounts inhibit plant growth and enzyme activities.
The contamination poses serious risks to human health through the food chain, the research points out. Chronic exposure to cadmium can lead to anemia, anosmia, cardiovascular diseases, and renal problems. Nickel exposure is responsible for allergic skin reactions, headaches, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, and irritability.
The nine villages surrounding the landfill—Saidapora, Shonglipora, Waganpora, Sangam, Braywar, Danmar, Guzerbal, Noorshah Colony, and Bagh-i-Lal Pandith—face direct exposure to these contaminants through agricultural produce and groundwater.
The Kashmir Times investigation had earlier pointed out that despite a 2007 court order mandating its closure, the Achan landfill in Srinagar continues to operate nearly two decades later, with officials repeatedly failing to fulfill promises.
The crisis has intensified as what was once the rice bowl of Srinagar, a thriving wetland with lush green paddy fields, has been transformed into a toxic dumping ground that now threatens both public health and the environment. The site's location in a wetland area has compounded the damage, with experts questioning why urban planners ever chose such an ecologically sensitive zone for waste disposal.
A 2022 case study published in the International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology reveals the alarming scale of mismanagement plaguing Srinagar's municipal solid waste system.
The report had pointed out that Srinagar generates a staggering 620 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day as of 2021, projected to surge to 690 tonnes by 2025. Yet the city's waste management infrastructure remains woefully inadequate. Only 60% of generated waste is collected, leaving 248 tonnes per day unattended. There are 520 open dumping points scattered across the city, creating breeding grounds for diseases.
The report also noted that a single landfill site in Achan serves the entire metropolitan area of 1.55 million people. The city faces a shortage of 1,000 sanitation workers against the required strength of 3,700. It further noted that the facility lacks proper landfill lining to prevent leachate seepage and poses a "serious health hazard" to the nearby 80,000 residents. Its location near residential areas and water bodies compounds the environmental damage.
The research team emphasizes that the problem is largely preventable. Since 65-75% of the waste generated is organic, it can be segregated and treated at source. The scientists propose using microbial consortium technology to transform organic waste into compost, which could then improve soil quality rather than degrade it.
Their recommendations include separating biodegradable from non-biodegradable waste before disposal, installing adequate lining to prevent leachate seepage, processing contaminated liquid before environmental release, composting programs using environmentally friendly techniques, and raising public awareness.
The researchers conclude with a stark warning: "Our investigation has shown that, regardless of the time of year or the distance from the waste site, landfills seriously degrade the soil quality of nearby communities."
They emphasize that assessment of soil health indicators is crucial for sustainable agriculture and call for global attention to soil restoration. The contamination threatens not only current food production but also the long-term viability of agriculture in the region.
(This report is based on peer-reviewed research published in PLOS ONE on November 19, 2024, titled "Landfill leachate: An invisible threat to soil quality of temperate Himalayas" by Shayesta Islam et al.) The complete report is attached below.
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