Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

The biological impact of landfill leachate on nearby surface water

Conference ·
OSTI ID:49619
 [1]
  1. State Lab. of Hygiene, Madison, WI (United States). Biomonitoring Lab.
Five landfill sites were evaluated for their potential to adversely impact the biotic community of surface waters. Acute and chronic aquatic toxicity tests were used to determine the toxicity of water samples collected from landfill monitoring wells and the nearest surface water. Four of the five landfill sites exhibited acute or chronic toxicity to Ceriodaphnia dubia, Daphnia magna, or Pimephales promelas. Toxicity identification procedures performed on water samples revealed toxic responses to metals and one toxic response to organic compounds. Surface water toxicity at an industrial landfill is most likely due to zinc from a tire production facility. Iron and a surfactant were determined to be the probable causes for toxicity at two municipal solid waste landfills.
OSTI ID:
49619
Report Number(s):
CONF-9410273--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English