A geochemical analysis of leachate plumes from two abandoned landfills. Present and long-term effects on groundwater
Groundwater samples have been taken from two abandoned landfills Måsängen and Lackalänga in Kävlinge community. The results show that groundwater from Lackalänga is a mixture of reduced and oxidized waters due to above-normal iron, manganese and ammonium as well as high nitrate and sulfate concentrations. Meanwhile, high bicarbonate buffers the pH between 7.7 and 8. The reduced water is most likely contributed by the landfill while the oxidized water most likely comes from upstream. Agricultural fertilizers also play a role in increased nitrogen concentrations. The concentrations are not high enough to be considered for risk assessment especially when high dilution into the Kävlinge River is considered. The Lackalänga landfill is therefore not a contributor to significant amounts of contaminants to the groundwater in the culvert and is therefore not a threat to surrounding waters, namely the Kävlinge River. The landfill in Måsängen showed high concentrations of reduced species, low concentrations of oxidized species, very high COD and high phosphate. It is therefore considered to be reduced water and highly contaminated. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were also found in concentrations above normal, which present a 1/100 000 cancer risk. The flow of the groundwater was calculated to be 0.001% of that of the Kävlinge River. The rates at which the groundwater contaminants enter the Kävlinge River are too low to cause any change in the water quality of the river.