Multisource Groundwater Contamination under Data Scarcity: The Case Study of Six Municipalities in the Proximity of the Naameh Landfill, Lebanon

Lebanon is affected by a protracted environmental and solid waste crisis that is threatening the water resources and the public health of its communities. This study is part of a public participatory research project that aims to evaluate the impacts of solid waste disposal practices on water, air, and health in six villages of Lebanon, stigmatized by the presence of a regional landfill. Community mapping enabled the selection and testing of seven springs and three wells in the upstream basin and 11 wells in the lower basin, covering a broad list of chemical, physical, and bacteriological parameters. Two water quality indices (WQ-1 and WQ-2) were used to assess water quality in the study area. The results for the upstream wells and springs showed a significant bacteriological contamination, while the results in the lower wells showed high levels of conductivity, chlorides, and zinc along with the occurrence of organic micropollutants in trace concentrations. The comparison between the experimental data, with the natural background value established in the same area, did not show major differences, except for zinc and bacteriological indicators. The bacteriological contamination is most likely related to sewage infiltration into groundwater at the time of the assessment. Zinc may result from landfill leachate infiltration but also well corrosion. Saltwater intrusion affecting the coastal basin is masking the results for conductivity, chlorides, and sulfates, whereas the presence of small traces of organic micropollutants in the coastal aquifer may be related to leachate infiltration. WQI-1 results, which included bacteriological indicators, showed highly degraded water quality in the C1-C3 inner basin. In contrast, WQI-2, which includes physio-chemical indicators only, showed good water quality, slightly deteriorating in the coastal area, downstream of the Naameh landfill.

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Effect of sanitation facilities, domestic solid waste disposal and hygiene practices on water quality in Malawi’s urban poor areas: a case study of South Lunzu Township in the city of Blantyre

Physics and Chemistry of the Earth Parts A/B/C ◽

10.1016/s1474-7065(02)00079-7 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 27 (11-22) ◽

pp. 845-850 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Lobina G. Palamuleni

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Waste Disposal ◽

Urban Poor ◽

Solid Waste Disposal ◽

Hygiene Practices ◽

Domestic Solid Waste ◽

The City

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Developing the Evaluation Criteria for the Municipal Solid Waste Systems – Krakow Case Study

Chemistry & Chemical Technology ◽

10.23939/chcht04.04.339 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 339-348

Author(s):

Tomasz Stypka ◽

◽

Agnieszka Flaga-Maryanczyk ◽

Keyword(s):

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Waste Disposal ◽

Evaluation Criteria ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Final Decision ◽

Solid Waste Disposal ◽

The Public ◽

Limited Scale

The article presents the methodology which can help the decision makers in evaluation of different municipal solid waste disposal systems. The results of the well known computer Integrated Waste Management model (IWM-1) are usually too fragmented to allow the final decision. The authors present the scientific background of the IWM-1 results integration. The results of the IWM-1 model analysis have been integrated into some specific categories that originate from the field of the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The authors propose 11 environmental categories plus the general ones calculated by the IWM-1 model. The presented categories describe the environmental impact of the analyzed system and are far easier to identify and understand by the public and by the decision makers. The developed methodology has been applied for the City of Krakow. The authors analyze two Krakow municipal solid waste disposal systems. The first system has been in operation for the last few years. The waste is collected and disposed at the landfill site while recycling and composting are implemented only in a limited scale. The second system presents the potential ultimate solid waste option for Krakow, where the waste is sorted extensively, then a significant part of organic fraction is composted, and the rest of the waste goes to the incinerator. The presented analysis compares these two systems. The authors use the results from the IWM-1 models for both systems as the input data to calculate the proposed impact categories. The final outcome is presented as graphs with the detail description of each stage of generation.

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