Assessment of Groundwater Pollution near Municipal Solid Waste Landfill

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Bhalla, Gunjan | Kumar, Arvind | Bansal1, Ajay

Affiliations: Department of Civil Engineering, Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, Punjab, India | 1Department of Chemical Engineering, Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, Punjab, India

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: bhalla77in@yahoo.com

Abstract: The leachate produced by waste disposal sites contains a large amount of contaminants which are likely to pollute ground water. The impact of such sites upon ground water can be judged by monitoring the concentration of potential contaminants at a number of specific monitoring points. In this study, the quality of ground water around a municipal solid waste dumping site was investigated. It is clearly evident from the ground water monitoring that the leachate generated from the landfill site is affecting the groundwater quality in the adjacent areas through percolation in the subsoil and with the passage of time the concentration of most of the parameters were found to be increased. Thus the study revealed that the ground water in and around the landfill site should not be used for drinking purpose unless it meets specific standards. Indiscriminate dumping of wastes in developed areas without proper solid waste management practices should be stopped.

Keywords: Leachate, landfill, municipal solid waste, groundwater pollution

Journal: Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 41-51, 2011