Organic components in leachates from hazardous waste disposal sites

Abstract

Organic compounds and inorganic elements were determined in leachates from 11 landfill sites in Japan. With regard to the inorganic elements, the concentration of boron was found to be fairly high. More than 100 organic compounds were detected and several important compounds such as organic phosphates, 1,4‐dioxane, phthalates, and bisphenol A were present at high concentrations. Waste plastics are a possible origin for these compounds. The ratio of characterized compounds to total organic carbon was unexpectedly low. Phenols and ethers were the main components as deduced from the carbon contents. Most of the chlorine appears to be present as non‐volatile substances.

Occurrence of phenols in leachates from municipal solid waste landfill sites in Japan

“…The concentration ranges of phenol and bisphenol A covered fi ve or six orders of magnitude; the observed wide concentration range of bisphenol A was consistent with previous studies. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The detection rates and the concentrations of chlorophenols in which one or more chlorine atom was attached at the ortho and/or the para positions of the phenol ring were higher than those of chlorophenols in which chlorine atoms were attached at the meta positions. The maximum concentrations of chlorophenols slightly exceeded 1 μg/l; in contrast, the levels of bromophenols were at sub-ppb levels.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Among the chemical substances detected in leachates, 4-tert-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, and bisphenol A are considered to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals in Japan, 10 and many compounds, including 1,4-dioxane, are suspected to be carcinogenic to humans. According to previous studies, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] however, high detection rates and wide concentration ranges in landfi ll leachates in Japan have been frequently reported for 1,4-dioxane and several phenols, including bisphenol A.…”

“…[1][2][3]5,6 Recent studies, in particular, have focused on bisphenol A; [5][6][7][8][9] however, phenol was listed by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan on November 2003 as the item to be monitored for the preservation of aquatic life, and guideline values for some target aquatic species in rivers and lakes in Japan were set at concentrations in the range 0.01-0.08 mg/ l. Furthermore, both 4-tert-octylphenol and 4-nonylphenol are believed to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and chlorophenols are suspected to be carcinogenic to humans. 11 Therefore, phenols in landfi ll leachates are thought to be important pollutants.…”

“…The purposes of this study were as follows: (1) to obtain information about the types, concentration ranges, and detection rates of phenols in MSW landfi ll leachates; (2) to obtain information about the infl uence of pH values of leachates on the concentrations of phenols; (3) to investigate the origins of phenols in landfi ll leachates; and (4) to estimate the removal of phenols by the water treatment technologies adopted by local governments. Consequently, we measured the concentrations of 41 phenols in both leachates and treated leachates from 38 MSW landfi ll sites in Japan.…”

Experimental study of behavior of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in leachate treatment process and evaluation of removal efficiency

“…In Japan and other countries, bisphenol A (BPA) and diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP), which are regarded as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), were detected at higher concentrations in leachate from municipal solid waste landfill sites than in surface water (Bauer et al, 1998;Robinson and Gronow, 1998;Yasuhara et al, 1999;Behnisch et al, 2001;Yamamoto et al, 2001;Fromme et al, 2002;Kjeldsen et al, 2002;Jonsson et al, 2003;Asakura et al, 2004). High concentrations of BPA and DEHP may have been flowing out from landfill sites as leachate for many decades (Asakura et al, 2003).…”