Impact of landfill leachate on the groundwater quality: A case study in Egypt

Abstract

Alexandria Governorate contracted an international company in the field of municipal solid waste management for the collection, transport and disposal of municipal solid waste. Construction and operation of the sanitary landfill sites were also included in the contract for the safe final disposal of solid waste. To evaluate the environmental impacts associated with solid waste landfilling, leachate and groundwater quality near the landfills were analyzed. The results of physico-chemical analyses of leachate confirmed that its characteristics were highly variable with severe contamination of organics, salts and heavy metals. The BOD5/COD ratio (0.69) indicated that the leachate was biodegradable and un-stabilized. It was also found that groundwater in the vicinity of the landfills did not have severe contamination, although certain parameters exceeded the WHO and EPA limits. These parameters included conductivity, total dissolved solids, chlorides, sulfates, Mn and Fe. The results suggested the need for adjusting factors enhancing anaerobic biodegradation that lead to leachate stabilization in addition to continuous monitoring of the groundwater and leachate treatment processes.

Human Exposure Risk Assessment Due to Heavy Metals in Groundwater by Pollution Index and Multivariate Statistical Methods: A Case Study from South Africa

“…Tanneries causing chromium pollution due to use of chromium sulphate during the tanning process is a major concern in Bangladesh and India [18][19][20]. Due to poor management, landfills [21,22] and municipal wastewater [23] have been the source of groundwater and soil pollution especially in developing countries. Occurrence of metals in groundwater in areas possessing mineral deposits and associated mining activities are common [24][25][26][27].…”

Ammonium Concentration and Migration in Groundwater in the Vicinity of Waste Management Site Located in the Neighborhood of Protected Areas of Warsaw, Poland

“…Landfills, even when well organized, can cause many environmental nuisances worldwide [1][2][3][4][5]. The risk of groundwater contamination by leachate is determined by many factors, including precipitation, hydrogeological conditions of the area, the toxicity, concentration and chemical composition of contaminants, solid waste composition, degree of compaction, absorptive capacity of the waste, landfill chemical and biological activities, landfill temperature, age of waste, and depth and distance from the pollution source or the direction of groundwater flow [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Landfill Impacts on Groundwater Quality: Consideration of Three Case Studies

“…The pollution sources for Cl -might be due to domestic effluents, fertilizers, and leachates. SO 4 2-concentrations were well below the permissible limit [3].…”

“…These impacts include fires and explosions, vegetation damage, unpleasant odors, landfill settlement, groundwater pollution, air pollution and global warming. In developing countries, landfills have been largely unsuccessful because the landfills site a very limited time frame of usage [4]. Contamination phenomena for MSW landfills are almost exclusively associated with the presence of ammonia, chlorides, COD, sulphates, iron and some heavy metals.…”