Disposal of Industrial Waste on Soil: an Incubation-study Approach with Reference to Soil Quality and Sulfur Content

Delhi, the capital of India, has emerged as a major industrial city resulting in generation of huge quantity of solid waste. Wazirpur industrial area is one of the major contributors towards the problem of hazardous waste in the city as it hosts numerous iron and steel processing units. The waste generated is strongly acidic in nature. In addition, high concentration of heavy metals are present in this waste, making it highly hazardous and a threat for the ambient environment. Since sulfuric acid is used for cleaning of metal and metal related products, sulfur constitutes an important fraction of the waste, apart from significant quantities of plant nutrients. In order to assess the suitability for the land disposal of these wastes after treatment, a laboratory-incubation study was taken in order to assess the effect on with reference to soil quality and sulfur status.