Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
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Do Natural Processes Mitigate Contamination from Landfill Leachate?
In order to predict how long landfill leachate will continue to contaminate groundwater after a landfill is closed, it is critical to understand how effective natural processes are in removing those contaminants over time. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and their colleagues‡ have developed a multifaceted approach for studying the natural attenuation of landfill leachate in the subsurface. The sustained removal of contaminants by monitored natural attenuation currently is a remediation alternative in use at many contaminated sites across the Nation. Assessing the sustainability of natural attenuation involves more than mapping the distribution of contaminants in the subsurface; it involves determining how long these processes can be maintained given local geochemical conditions. The scientists’ approach can help determine the sustainability of monitored natural attenuation as a remediation option at landfill sites across the Nation. In a recent paper in Ground Water the scientists document the approach, which is based on their long-term study of the fate of landfill leachate at the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program's Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Oklahoma, Research Site. Their approach to understanding the sustainability of the natural attenuation of landfill leachate involves an analysis of the geochemical evolution of a leachate plume. This includes the analysis of chemicals that sustain biodegradation reactions, such as electron acceptors, in sediments (aquifer materials) through which the groundwater plume is moving. Some of the key features of their approach include:
This multifaceted approach forms the basis for understanding the fate and transport of organic and inorganic compounds in landfill leachate and can strengthen the framework that environmental regulators and scientists use
for assessing the potential effectiveness and sustainability of natural attenuation as a remediation option. These results were made possible with funding from the Toxics Program and the USGS National Research Program. ‡ USGS scientists have collaborated with scientists from the University of Oklahoma, University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, Texas A&M University, and others. ReferencesCozzarelli, I.M., Böhlke, J.K., Masoner, J., Breit, G.N., Lorah, M.M., Tuttle, M.L.W., and Jaeschke, J.B., 2011, Biogeochemical evolution of a landfill leachate plume, Norman, Oklahoma: Ground Water, doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2010.00792.x (Advanced Web release). More Information
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