Toxic Impact of Oke-Afa Closed Landfill Leachates on Albino Mice (Musmusculus Linnaeus, 1758)

Leachates are known to be produced during and after landfill operation. There is limited information on the toxic effect of closed landfill leachate on tissues and organ of mammals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxic effect of Oke-Afa closed landfill leachates on Musmusculus. Twenty-five female mice were used; the mice were divided randomly into 5 groups of 5 animals each. Group 1 was the control; the other four groups were given 5-25 % concentrations of the leachate. Animals were sacrificed after 28 days; organs and blood were collected for histopathological, biochemical, and haematological analyses. Significant decrease (Pless than0.05) was observed in the alanine aminotransferase, neutrophils, and mean cell heamoglobin concentration of the exposed mice. The mean cell volume and lymphocytes of the mice exposed showed a significant increase (Pless than0.05). Physio-chemical analysis of the leachate revealed low biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, Manganese and Cadmium while Copper, Iron, Mercury, Lead, and Zinc were high compared to the standard permissible limit. The heavy metals when ingested in the body can lead to liver and kidney damage, cancer, cardiac arrhythmias, immunotoxicity and anaemia. Closed Oke-Afa landfill leachate might be a threat to the health of the people ingesting groundwater within its vicinity.