Environmental Health Risk Assessment (EHRA) of Ammonia (NH3) Exposure to Scavengers at Tamangapa Landfill

Based on the National Waste Management Information System data, the percentage of waste volume in Tamangapa landfill, thebiggest landfill in Makassar City, is dominated by organic waste (38.82%) and plastic waste (16.29%). An increase in the wastevolume, especially organic waste, which is not followed by an effective management system will cause foul odors and produceammonia gas (NH3) which can be a risk factor for respiratory disease. This study aimed to estimate the risk level or risk quotient(RQ) due to NH3 exposure through scavengers’ inhalation at Tamangapa landfill. This type of study was observational withEnvironmental Health Risk Analysis (EHRA). Data collection was carried out with questionnaires and weighing 177 scavengersand direct measurement of ambient air using imprinter in 5 zones at Tamangapa landfill in the morning, afternoon, and evening.The results indicated that the average concentration of NH3 in each zone 1,2,3,4, and 5 is 1.89mg/m3, 0.94mg/m3, 0.32mg/m3,2.6mg/m3, and 1.4mg/m3. The calculation of risk quotient (RQ) in real-time projections shown that as many as 171 scavengers(96.7%) were declared unsafe (RQ> 1) while those declared safe (RQ≤1) were only 6 scavengers (3.3%). Based on thesecalculations, it can be concluded that the presence of NH3 in the Tamangapa landfill is unsafe for scavengers’ inhalation althoughthe concentration of NH3 in the ambient air is still below the threshold value. Therefore, the researchers suggest that riskmanagement is needed to control health effects in various ways through technological, socio-economic, public health, andinstitutional approaches.Keywords: EHRA (Environmental Health Risk Assessment), Landfill, Ammonia, NH3