Scholarly record

ANALYSIS OF DOMESTIC LANDFILLS IN HUNEDOARA COUNTY AND ASSESSMENT OF THE GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER DEGREE OF POLLUTION

Angelica-Nicoleta Călămar

Abstract

Generally, in Romania, the management of landfills is a major concern with regard to existing circumstances. Although the percentage of recycled waste is increasing, there are still many previously built landfills that are currently in the post-management phase. The negative impact of landfills is represented by leachate built-ups, that contains heavy metals and can pollute soil, groundwater and surface waters and endanger population?s health. European waste legislation requires closure of non-compliant landfills and reduction of waste disposal by storage. Storage is an old form of waste treatment and is the least desirable due to negative impact it can have. Ecological landfills are currently the only way to dispose of waste. In order to limit harmful effects on the environment, they must be designed and constructed in a manner that meet requirements which have as their primary objective limitation of air, soil and water pollution. The study aims at assessing landfills within Hunedoara County in order to achieve EU waste management targets and assess the level of groundwater and surface water pollution. For this purpose, water samples were collected from 10 closed non-compliant domestic landfills for quantification of pollution. The results showed that eight of ten deposits analysed polluted the groundwater because of soil infiltration of various substances from the deposits, which may increase health risk for population in those areas.

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