Differences in the Composition of Leachate from Active and Non-Operational Municipal Waste Landfills in Poland

Abstract

Leachate formation is one of the many environmental hazards associated with landfilling. The leachate may migrate from the landfill to surface water and groundwater, posing a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, its harmful effect on human health and life has been proven. Due to the risks that landfill leachates may pose, it is necessary to control the state of the environment in their surroundings. The paper presents an example of the application of selected statistical methods (basic statistics, statistical tests, principal component analysis) to assess the impact of individual pollution indicators on the quality of landfill leachates. The conducted analysis showed the existence of significant differences between the surveyed active (Legnica, Jawor) and non-operational (Wrocław, Bielawa) landfills in Poland. These differences were especially visible in the cases of the following: electric conductivity (EC) (non-operational landfills 1915–5075 μS/cm, active 5093–11,370 μS/cm), concentrations of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) (non-operational landfills 0.18–294.5 mg N/dm3, active 167.56–907.4 mg N/dm3), chemical oxygen demand (COD), organic nitrogen (ON), ammonium nitrogen (AN), total solids (TS), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), sulfates, chlorides, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and nickel. Selected indicators should help to determine the progress of decomposition processes inside the landfill and the potential impact of leachate on the environment, and should be used in the mandatory monitoring of landfills.

Comparison of Landfill Leachate Properties by LPI and Phytotoxicity-A Case Study

“…The studies showed similar level of COD values in leachates from these landfills. It should be noted that the landfills were put into operation at a similar time (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001) and the results of the investigations may confirm a similar character of the decomposition processes taking place in the deposits of the deposited wastes.All COD values obtained in the conducted studies were within the ranges reported also by other authors (Kjeldsen et al, 2002;Tatsi and Zouboulis, 2002;Wdowczyk and Szymańska-Pulikowska, 2020), confirming that one of the main factors affecting their values is the age of the landfill site (or rather the age of the deposited waste), because with the passage of time the susceptibility of waste to biological and chemical degradation processes decreases.…”

Physicochemical indicators of the influence of a lined municipal landfill on groundwater quality: a case study from Poland

“…In the raw leachate samples from the tested municipal landfill, pH peaked at 9.0 with an average of 8.2. This indicates that the leachate comes from a mature landfill, which has been in use for over ten years (Nájera-Aguilar et al, 2019) and is in the methanogenic phase (Wdowczyk and Szymańska-Pulikowska 2019). In turn, low concentrations of Hg at 5 µg/L and Cd at 36 µg/L were recorded in the investigated leachate.…”

Changes of a Landfill Leachate Toxicity as a Result of Treatment With Phragmites australis and Ceratophyllum demersum–A Case Study

“…The highest value of TDS was observed in the active landfill in Legnica (7,065 mg/dm 3 ), and the lowest in the landfill in Wrocław (1,690 mg/dm 3 ). The high content of solid solutes is reflected in the high EC values of the leachate (Wdowczyk and Szymańska, 2020). The leachate from the active landfills was characterized by high COD values, much higher than those recorded in the closed facilities.…”

“…In recent years, increasingly more studies have shown that the content of heavy metals ceases to be the most serious threat posed by landfill leachate (Christensen et al, 2001;Przydatek, 2019a;Wdowczyk and Szymańska-Pulikowska, 2020). However, studies showing a serious threat of heavy metal contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater by landfill leachate can still be found.…”