Toxicological characterization of the landfill leachate prior/after chemical and electrochemical treatment: A study on human and plant cells

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2013-10, Vol.93 (6), p.939-945
• Main Authors: Garaj-Vrhovac, Vera, Oreščanin, Višnja, Gajski, Goran, Gerić, Marko, Ruk, Damir, Kollar, Robert, Radić Brkanac, Sandra, Cvjetko, Petra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adsorption; Allium cepa; Applied sciences; buds; calcium oxide; Cell Line; cell viability; chemical precipitation; Chemical treatment; coagulation; Comet Assay; Croatia; Cytogenotoxicity; cytotoxicity; DNA damage; Electrochemical treatment; electrochemistry; Environmental Monitoring; Exact sciences and technology; exposure duration; ferric chloride; fluorescence microscopy; General purification processes; Human lymphocytes; Humans; irradiation; Landfill leachate; landfill leachates; landfills; lymphocytes; Micronucleus Tests; ozone; Plants - drug effects; Pollution; Refuse Disposal - methods; Waste Disposal Facilities; Wastewaters; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water treatment and pollution
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.05.059

[Display omitted] •The efficiency of two methods for landfill leachate purification was investigated.•Untreated leachate proved to be both cyto- and genotoxic to human or plant cells.•Treated leachate did not cause increase in cyto- and genotoxic damage.•Both methods have high removal efficiency and provide toxicological safety. In this research, toxicological safety of two newly developed methods for the treatment of landfill leachate from the Piškornica (Croatia) sanitary landfill was investigated. Chemical treatment procedure combined chemical precipitation with CaO followed by coagulation with ferric chloride and final adsorption by clinoptilolite. Electrochemical treatment approach included pretreatment with ozone followed by electrooxidation/electrocoagulation and final polishing by microwave irradiation. Cell viability of untreated/treated landfill leachate was examined using fluorescence microscopy. Cytotoxic effect of the original leachate was obtained for both exposure periods (4 and 24h) while treated samples showed no cytotoxic effect even after prolonged exposure time. The potential DNA damage of the untreated/treated landfill leachate was evaluated by the comet assay and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay using either human or plant cells. The original leachate exhibited significantly higher comet assay parameters compared to negative control after 24h exposure. On the contrary, there was no significant difference between negative control and chemically/electrochemically treated leachate for any of the parameters tested. There was also no significant increase in either CBMN assay parameter compared to the negative control following the exposure of the lymphocytes to the chemically or electrochemically treated landfill leachate for both exposure periods while the original sample showed significantly higher number of micronuclei, nucleoplasmic bridges and nuclear buds for both exposure times. Results suggest that both methods are suitable for the treatment of such complex waste effluent due to high removal efficiency of all measured parameters and toxicological safety of the treated effluent.