Organic Pollutants in Leachates from Landfill Sites

Abstract

AbstractGrowing concern for groundwater pollution with potentially hazardous organic chemicals from waste disposal sites prompted this investigation of determining organic pollutants in leachates from a number of municipal landfill sites. Identification of the various compounds was attained using multicolumn GC and GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) techniques. Volatile compounds were concentrated using purge and trap technique and nonvolatile compounds were fractionated into the alkali and acid extracts. Quantitative determinations were made by comparing heights or areas of the GC peaks obtained from the test samples to the corresponding peaks from the standard compounds. Different volatile compounds identified in leachates from landfill sites varied over a wide concentration range. Determinations of volatile compounds in leachates from the Southington, CT landfill site showed large concentrations of some common industrial solvents such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone. Presence of as high as 4 mg/L of phenols which are readily sorbed and transformed by soils and clays under laboratory conditions suggest that anaerobic landfill conditions may facilitate the movement of phenols and other organic compounds.