Landfill Leachate Generation and Its Impact on Water at an Urban Landfill(Jebel Chakir, Tunisia)

Aydi Abdelwaheb

doi:10.4172/2157-7587.1000128

Abstract

The current research examined the level of surface and groundwater contamination near a municipal solid waste landfill site in Tunis City. The site of Jebel Chakir is the largest and the first controlled in Tunisia, in operation since May 1999. It receives 1800 tons/day of municipal solid waste incoming from great Tunis. Water quality parameters (physico-chemical and heavy metals) of leachate, surface and groundwater samples were analyzed. The mean concentrations of all measured parameters except Salinity, Na2SO4 and Mg in groundwater conform to the stipulated World Health Organization potable water standards and the Tunisian Standard for Drinking Water Quality. The current results show insignificant impact of the landfill operations on surface and the groundwater resource. The existing soil stratigraphy at the landfill site consisting of clay intercalated with clay gypsum or chalky is deduced to have significantly influenced natural attenuation of leachate into the groundwater resource. The research recommends an upgrade of the solous landfill to a standard that would guarantee adequate protection of both the surface and the groundwater resources in the locality.

Highlights

Landfill leachates have been proved to be toxic and recalcitrant, landfilling still remains one of the main methods for municipal and industrial solid waste disposal [1]
COD is a measure of chemically oxizdable components in leachate and reflects the amount of O2 that is required by the bacteria to metabolize the existing organic substrate as well as the O2 required by other oxidizable chemical compounds
Most of parameters in Jebel Chakir landfill leachate exceed the permissible required for treated wastewater discharge determined by local standard

Summary

Introduction

Landfill leachates have been proved to be toxic and recalcitrant, landfilling still remains one of the main methods for municipal and industrial solid waste disposal [1]. Leachate is generated as a consequence of rainwater percolation through wastes, chemical biological processes in waste and the inherent water content of wastes themselves [2,3,4]. Landfill leachate generation remains continuous when water comes in contact with the solid waste. Contaminants carried in leachate are dependent on solid waste composition and on the simultaneously occurring physical, chemical and biological activities within the landfill [6]. Heavy metals present in leachate can migrate away from the disposal site boundaries and may constitute a serious pollution threat for the water table and the soil around the landfill [7,8,9]. The impact of landfill leachate on the surface and groundwater has given rise to a number of studies in recent years [4,8,10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion