Evaluation of organic contamination in urban groundwater surrounding a municipal landfill, Zhoukou, China

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2013-04, Vol.185 (4), p.3413-3444
• Main Authors: Han, D. M., Tong, X. X., Jin, M. G., Hepburn, Emily, Tong, C. S., Song, X. F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Applied sciences; Aquifers; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biological and medical sciences; China; Chlorinated hydrocarbons; Cities; Contaminants; Contamination; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General treatment and storage processes; Groundwater; Groundwater - chemistry; Groundwater discharge; Groundwater pollution; Groundwaters; Halogenated hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated - analysis; Investigations; Landfill; Landfills; Leachates; Mathematical models; Models, Chemical; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Municipal solid waste; Natural water pollution; Organic compounds; Organic contaminants; Organochlorine pesticides; Pesticides; Pesticides - analysis; Phenanthrene; Pollutants; Pollution; Pollution abatement; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis; Precipitation; Principal components analysis; Quaternary; Rainy season; Refuse Disposal; River networks; Rivers; Sediments; Studies; Surface water; Waste disposal sites; Wastes; Water analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water pollution; Water resources; Water sampling; Water table; Water treatment and pollution
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2801-z

This paper investigates the organic pollution status of shallow aquifer sediments and groundwater around Zhoukou landfill. Chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, monocylic aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine pesticides and other pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been detected in some water samples. Among the detected eleven PAHs, phenanthrene, fluorine, and fluoranthene are the three dominant in most of the groundwater samples. Analysis of groundwater samples around the landfill revealed concentrations of PAHs ranging from not detected to 2.19 μg/L. The results show that sediments below the waste dump were low in pollution, and the shallow aquifer, at a depth of 18–30 m, was heavily contaminated, particularly during the wet season. An oval-shaped pollution halo has formed, spanning 3 km from west to east and 2 km from south to north, and mainly occurs in groundwater depths of 2–4 m. For PAH source identification, both diagnostic ratios of selected PAHs and principal component analysis were studied, suggesting mixed sources of pyro- and petrogenic derived PAHs in the Zhoukou landfill. Groundwater table fluctuations play an important role in the distribution of organic pollutants within the shallow aquifer. A conceptual model of leachate migration in the Quaternary aquifers surrounding the Zhoukou landfill has been developed to describe the contamination processes based on the major contaminant (PAHs). The groundwater zone contaminated by leachate has been identified surrounding the landfill.