Assessment of soil quality of Silghat region of Ass am (India) affected by jute mill solid waste

Physico-chemical Analysis of the soil of the dumpin g yard of Assam Cooperative Jute Mill situated at S ilghat of Nagoan district of Assam, India were carried out to assess the extent of chemical pollution due to jut e mill waste. Soil samples were collected from ten different loca tions of the dumping sites and their physico-chemic al parameters were analyzed. The soil of the jute mill dumping ya rd was found to be slightly acidic with an average pH of 6.20. The moisture content of the samples was found to be 40-60%. C/N ratio of the samples ranges from 18.43 to 26.89. Electrical conductivity of 1:5 suspensions of the ssamples ranges from 1.02 to 3.02 mScm -1 indicating high concentration of ions. Concentration of Cl - , SO 4 2- and NO 3 - in the soil samples increases in the order NO 3 - < SO 4 2- < Cl - . The soil samples were found to be highly enriche d with Na (74.88 mg/Kg), K (89.81 mg/Kg) and Ca (25 4.12 mg/Kg). Correlation studies indicate strong positiv e correlation between organic carbon content (C org ) with all the three metals. pH had negative correlation while pos itive correlation was observed for electrical condu ctivity with all the metals. UV-visible spectroscopic studies re vealed the presence of appreciable amount of undesi rable organic matter like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) i n the soil samples. The acidic nature of the soil m akes it a suitable sink for metals and can lead to their bioa ccumulation and biomagnifications. The study reveal s the toxicological affect of jute mill solid waste on the soil quality of the investigated region.