Monitoring of Leachate Quality at a Selected Municipal Landfill Site in Podlasie, Poland

Abstract

The paper presents an evaluation of leachate monitoring data as well as investigation of temporal and seasonal variability of leachate quality. The analysis includes 27 sampling carried out at selected municipal landfill during 7-year observation period. In leachate samples, concentration of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Hg, Cd, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and value of pH and electro-conductivity (EC) were determined. Estimation of landfill leachate demonstrated a declining trend in EC, TOC and Zn concentration with time. Concentration of Pb, Hg, Cr, Cd and PAH remained relatively constant with respect to the sampling time, however, the value of pH showed a growing trend due to the decrease of the concentration of the partially ionized free volatile fatty acids. Average concentration of heavy metals in leachate were observed in trace quantities (<1.0 mg•dm-3). There were no statistically significant seasonal variations in concentration of the analyzed parameters, however, the highest concentration of EC, TOC and PAH were observed in summer. The negative correlation of pH with Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Hg, Cd indicated a strong connection of leachate's pH with heavy metals concentration. A cluster analysis allowed to specify two groups of variables: cluster I with TOC as an indicator of organic pollution in leachate and claster II with the rest of parameters. Further systematic monitoring is necessary, but its scope, according to the author, should be redefined.

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

“…The studies [54,58,59] pointed out the need to control the state of the environment in the vicinity of landfills as well as the problem with determining the scope of this monitoring. The research showed that the most useful parameters indicating groundwater pollution by landfill leachate include EC, TOC [60] boron, iron, dissolved solids, and chlorides, but mainly ammonium nitrogen [61].…”

The effect of sodium percarbonate dose on the reduction of organic compounds in landfill leachate

“…The following should be listed among waste management methods: reuse, combustion, composting, and landfilling. Unfortunately, in spite of hazards it involves, waste landfilling in many countries is still the most commonly used disposal method [1][2][3]. Landfill shall be treated as a bioreactor, in which a number of biochemical and microbiological processes take place.…”

“…They are generated not only while landfill is in service, but also after its closing, during its reclamation. It is estimated that in European climatic conditions approximately 3.5÷8.5 m 3 of leachates are generated from 1ha of landfill, however, in case of heavy rainfall this volume may increase even by 200% [2,3,[7][8][9][10][11].…”

“…Leachate constitution reflects processes occurring in a landfill pit and changes throughout the facility service period, but it also depends on many factors, e.g. the volume, type and fragmentation of wastes, climate, geometrical parameters of a landfill, and compaction degree [2,12,13]. The following should be listed among the main leachate ingredients [2]: dissolved organic compounds (given as COD, BOD5, TOC, VFAs) and more complex humus compounds, inorganic macroelements (i.a.…”

“…the volume, type and fragmentation of wastes, climate, geometrical parameters of a landfill, and compaction degree [2,12,13]. The following should be listed among the main leachate ingredients [2]: dissolved organic compounds (given as COD, BOD5, TOC, VFAs) and more complex humus compounds, inorganic macroelements (i.a. Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, SO4 2-), heavy metals and xenobiotic substances.…”