Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Kuyyu Cement Factory, Kuyyu District, North Showa, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

The cement factory is the heart of construction and one of the most polluting industries in the world. This study was aimed at assessing the impact of Kuyyu Cement Factory on environmental components based on a household survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, field observation, some soil heavy metal analysis, and gas emissions and particulate matters recorded by using a combustion gas analyzer. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were employed to get survey data. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data were analyzed through a narrative and thematic approach. By using the systematic sampling method, soil samples were collected at four sampling sites from 0 km to 3 km east of the study area at 1 km intervals and subjected to laboratory analysis. The soil heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni, and Cr) were assayed by using a wet digestion atomic absorption spectrophotometer method. The pH and electric conductivity were analyzed in 1:2.5 H2O, organic carbon was carried out in Wakely and Black wet digestion, and available phosphorus and soil texture were analyzed by the Olsen and Hygrometry methods, respectively. The study result revealed that the factory had significantly affected surface water resource quality (r = 0.684), impacted land use and land cover, and influenced domestic animals and animal feed (r = 0.703) at the 5% significance level. Improper management of waste gases influenced the local atmosphere (r = 0.489). The data gathered from 66.67% of key informant interviews and 75% of focus group discussions indicated that the surrounding environment was potentially impacted. The result of gas emissions and suspended particulate matter is shown exclusively; the average concentration of PM10 at the raw mill area (0.885 µg/m3) was above the WHO (0.8 µg/m3 ) set limit. When the mean levels of PM2.5 at the raw mill and kiln area were above the WHO limit, a below-permissible limit was recorded at the clinker yard and cooler area. The value of each metal ranged from (46776.9–59695.7 mg/kg) Fe, (300.9–926.9 mg/kg) Mn, (93.69–284.07 mg/kg) Zn, (34.07–72.67 mg/kg) Ni, (19.53–37.07 mg/kg) Co, and (4.67–5.33 mg/kg) Pb. The mean levels of Fe, Mn, Zn, and Ni were significantly above the WHO permissible limit, whereas Pb and Co were significantly below the limit. The pH of the soil ranges from 4.9 to 7.4, showing that it is slightly alkaline at the factory, and acidity has been observed as far as the factory. The mean values of electrical conductivity decreased with increasing distances from the factory. To sum up, waste gases and improper solid and liquid waste management at the factory could pose a serious hazard to human and animal health. So, the factory should introduce prevention and reduction methods by redesigning the proper waste management mechanism, and advanced technologies should be incorporated into the factory redesign.