Abstract

Rapid population growth, industrialization, and urbanization have contributed to the generation of large volumes of waste, causing disposal challenges. This present study examined the impact of dumping sites on air, soil, and water pollution in five Southern African countries. The five selected Southern African countries have unique situations concerning landfill pollution caused by a mix of environmental, social and health issues. These countries encounter significant water, air and soil pollution due to inadequate waste management techniques. The study adopted a literature survey approach, reviewing published papers and reports on chemical pollutants. A total of 151 downloaded papers, obtained through systematic keyword searches across multiple databases, were analyzed. The chemical pollutants investigated include heavy metals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) substances in water resources, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The reported levels of heavy metals (lead), PBDE, PFAS, PAHs, and PCBs ranged from 23,000 to 14,600,000 µg/kg, 127-3,702 pg·L-1, 310-1,089 ng·L-1, 45-95 mg/kg, and 0.2-5.3 mg/kg, respectively. The results indicate that landfills, as well as open dumping sites, are major threats to surface and underground water resources. The study suggests that policies to regulate and monitor landfills should be implemented to mitigate the environmental impact of landfills.

Volume	4
Issue number	1
Publication status	Published - 2025