Abstract
The degree of metal contamination (Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni, Cd) has been investigated in the vicinity of an old unmonitored municipal landfill in Prague, Czech Republic, where the leachate is directly drained into a surface stream. The water chemistry was coupled with investigation of the stream sediment (aqua regia extract, sequential extraction, voltammetry of microparticles) and newly formed products (SEM/EDS, XRD). The MINTEQA2 speciation-solubility calculation showed that the metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni) are mainly present as carbonate complexes in leachate-polluted surface waters. These waters were oversaturated with respect to Fe(III) oxyhydroxides, calcite (CaCO3) and other carbonate phases. Three metal attenuation mechanisms were identified in leachate-polluted surface waters: (i) spontaneous precipitation of metal-bearing calcite exhibiting significant concentrations of trace elements (Fe, Mn, Mg, Sr, Ba, Pb, Zn, Ni); (ii) binding to Fe(III) oxyhydroxides (mainly goethite, FeOOH) (Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni); and (iii) preferential bonding to sediment organic matter (Cu). These processes act as the key scavenging mechanisms and significantly decrease the metal concentrations in leachate-polluted water within 200 m from the direct leachate outflow into the stream. Under the near-neutral conditions governing the sediment/water interface in the landfill environment, metals are strongly bound in the stream sediment and remain relatively immobile.
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Acknowledgements
The study was financed in the framework of the research project FRVŠ 2272/2002 and project grants from Charles University (J13/98:113100005) and the Ministry of Education (LN00A028). Additional analyses and data treatment were financed by a GA AS research project (KJB3111402). A number of colleagues assisted in the analytical work: Dr. Ondřej Šebek (FAAS measurements), Marie Fayadová (laboratory assistance), Dr. David Hradil (mineralogical analyses), Dr. Annick Genty (SEM/EDS), and Dr. Tomáš Grygar (voltammetry). Prof. Jim F. Barker (University of Waterloo, Canada) and Jiří Bruthans (Institute of Hydrogeology, Charles University) are thanked for a discussion on the hydrogeology and groundwater movement at the landfill site studied.
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Ettler, V., Matura, M., Mihaljevič, M. et al. Metal speciation and attenuation in stream waters and sediments contaminated by landfill leachate. Environ Geol 49, 610–619 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0110-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0110-3