Assessment of Dumpsite Rehabilitation Potential Using the Integrated Risk Based Approach: a Case Study of Eneka, Nigeria

The state of t he poor solid waste management in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria is poor and has now reached an alarming proportion. Wastes are frequently dumped along the streets, in the gutters and informal waste dumps, which has been linked to several environmental, safety and public health impacts including the blockage of gutters, nuisance odours, surface and groundwater pollution, air emissions of carbon dioxide and methane and soil contamination. Waste dumps have also been implicated in road traffic obstructions and accidents. The Rivers State environmental sanitation and waste management authorities are at loss on how to best handle the wastes sustainably. In this study, we used an integrated risk based approach (IRBA) to assess and recommend management strategies for Eneka waste dump. The risk index was computed from the summation of the product of the sensitivity of the variable studied and their respective weights of their attributes. The Eneka dumpsite had a total risk index score 452.3 which corresponded to moderate hazard potential, suggesting that the dumpsite require immediate rehabilitation and conversion to a landfill.