Análise do impacto ambiental na qualidade da água subterrânea de cemitérios – Caso do cemitério municipal localizado no município de Recife, Pernambuco – Brasil

Analysis of the Environmental Impact on the Groundwater Quality of Cemeteries – Case of the Municipal Cemetery Located in Recife, Pernambuco – Brazil

Abstract

Among the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is the quest for universal access to quality water by 2030. SDG 6 aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water. According to the latest SDG progress report published by the UN (2023), 2.2 billion people still lack access to drinking water, one of the problems being water contamination. Among the sources of contamination are cemeteries, which has been aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of this work is to assess possible groundwater contamination in the largest cemetery in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, the Senhor Bom Jesus da Redenção Cemetery, Recife. To assess the vulnerability of the water, laboratory and field studies were carried out to determine the levels of heavy metals, COD, BOD and pH in samples collected from the cemetery. The data is compared with water collected from the state supply system. The effect of recent burials is observed in the average phosphorus content of the soil samples tested (471, 81 mg/kg), as well as changes observed in the concentrations of heavy metals and physical-chemical parameters indicating that the groundwater in the cemetery is suffering interference in its quality due to recent burials.