Abstract: The present research was carried out with eight specimens
of sludge from Apex Weaving and Finishing Mills Ltd. Gazipur, Bangladesh,
to determine the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Cr, Fe
and Mn) in the sludge samples and an assessment was made with the heavy
metal content in agricultural soil. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS)
method was employed for the analysis of Pb, Cd, Cr, Zn, Cu and UV-Spectrophotometric
method was used for Fe and Mn, respectively. The mean concentration of
lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) was 79.13, 6.27, 4.35 mg kg-1
and for zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) it was 7.90,
1.34, 195.2 and 3.97 g kg-1, respectively. All the heavy metal
concentrations except chromium in the sludge samples were higher than
that of in agricultural soil. In addition, the study concluded that pre-treatment
process for reducing the amount of heavy metal is mandatory before the
sludge can be used as a soil conditioner or fertilizer in the agricultural
soil. |