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. 2015 Jul;6(4):579-86.
doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2014.02.003. Epub 2014 Feb 12.

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

Magda M Abd El-Salam  1 , Gaber I Abu-Zuid  2
Affiliations

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

Magda M Abd El-Salam et al. J Adv Res. 2015 Jul.

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.

Keywords: Environmental impacts; Groundwater pollution; Heavy metals; Leachate; Solid waste disposal.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Lay-out of the study area in Borg El-Arab and El-Hammam Landfills sites.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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