How does solid waste pollution effect groundwater? Saron Selassie & Shirley Chiang Period 1 Ms. Holl

Outline Landfills Possible Problems Protection Effects on Humans V. Effects on Groundwater Testing Alternatives Landfills a. What is a landfill? b. Sanitation requirements c. Locations Possible Problems a.land damage b.Groundwater c.human damage III. Protection a.sanitary lining b.water filters c.Change location Environmental Effects a. Damage to land b. Damage to water c. Air pollution V. Humanitarian Effects a. Body Damage b. c. VI. Prevention a. Testing

Landfills Large, isolated area Receives waste Four basic requirements to be sanitary. -Hydro geological isolation -Formal engineering preparations -Permanent control -Planned waste emplacement and covering A landfill is a large, isolated area of land built specifically to receive waste. There are four basic requirements before a landfill is considered sanitary. -Hydro geological isolation : completely away from water -Formal engineering preparations: waste disposal plan, final restoration plan, ect. -Permanent control : trained staff should be at the landfill to supervise. -Planned waste emplacement and covering Sanitary landfills are sites where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe.

Possible Problems Acid rain mixed with solid waste creates leachate.                                                                            Acid rain mixed with solid waste creates leachate. Leachate sinks into ground, pollutes water. Bacteria breaks down organic matter, releasing methane. Methane - green house gas, explosive.

Protection Sanitary liners 1/10 of an inch thick, 3ft clay liner,prevents from groundwater contamination. Landfill covers,vary in size, usually clay, used to lock gas in and prevent air pollution Location important, water not ideal

Effects on Groundwater Most landfills don’t have liners Landfills produce leachate Leachate mixes with rainwater and sinks into the groundwater. This gives the water carcinogenicity that may cause cancer. Many different chemicals that get dumped in landfills get dumped, so they also contribute to the landfill toxins that sink in. The vast majority of these landfills have no liners, no leachate collection systems, and no groundwater monitoring systems. In humid regions, all landfills produce leachate, caused inevitably by the interaction of garbage, rainfall and gravity; gravity pulls the rain slowly downward through the garbage until the rain drips out the bottom contaminated Since the leachate that drips from beneath a solid waste landfill has essentially the same carcinogenicity (cancer-causing ability) as the leachate that drips from industrial and hazardous waste landfills like Love Canal (see RHWN #90), and since a careful analysis of landfills shows that 86% of those studied have contaminated groundwater (see RHWN #71), it seems safe to say that the nation's 7575 solid waste landfills, taken together, constitute a major source of serious environmental contamination. Furthermore, because household products each year are made from more and more strange chemical mixtures, each year landfill leachate becomes a little more toxic, a little more dangerous, so the problem is getting worse.

Effects on Humans As landfills expand, less room for land development Dioxins (different types of chemicals) can harm human health and cause cancer. Dioxins can cause contamination to the groundwater, causing humans to experience different medical problems. The declining number of landfills has caused communities to transport their wastes greater distances for disposal and has increased disposal costs.

Testing Using water filters can help reduce contamination of drinking water Scientists constantly check water supplies for contamination Most of the time, the government will test for water problems What you need to test for if you live near landfills are volatile organic chemicals (such as gasoline components and cleaning solvents) pH, TDS, chloride, sulfate and metals. The following water treatment technologies are effective in reducing arsenic from drinking water: 1.Activated alumina filters 2.Anion exchange 3.Distillation 4.Reverse Osmosis 5.Nanofiltration 6. Iron Oxide Filters

Alternatives Recycle Proper disposal of toxic wastes Better landfill management Use protective liners at garbage disposal landfills Raise awareness to the government and community

Bibliography Garbage and Other Pollution,, 1998th ed. Wylie Tex. Connor, Karen O. Garbage, San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1989. “Pollution”. Science in Action, Video Series Vol. 4, TMW Media Group, Venice, CA. “Garbage.” Learner.org 1997. Race to Save the Planet.6 June 2006<http://www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage/intro.html> Krantz, David, and Brad Kifferstein. “Water Pollution And Society.” www.umich.edu. 6 June 2006 Http://umich.edu/~gs265/society/waterpollution.htm