Influence of a Municipal Waste Landfill on the Spatial Distribution of Mercury in the Environment.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26176607.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0133130 and PMC identifier 4503673.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The study investigations were focused on assessing the influence of a 35-year-old municipal waste landfill on environmental mercury pollution. The total Hg content was determined in the soil profile, groundwater, and the plants (Solidago virgaurea and Poaceae sp.) in the landfill area. Environmental pollution near the landfill was relatively low. The topsoil layer, groundwater and the leaves of Solidago virgaurea and Poaceae sp. contained 19-271 μg kg-1, 0.36-3.01 μg l-1, 19-66 μg kg-1 and 8-29 μg kg-1 of Hg, respectively. The total Hg content in the soil decreased with the depth. The results are presented as pollution maps of the landfill area based on the total Hg content in the soil, groundwater and plants. Statistical analysis revealed the lack of correlation between the total Hg content in the soil and plants, but a relationship between the total concentration of Hg in groundwater and soil was shown. The landfill is not a direct source of pollution in the area. The type of land morphology did not influence the pollution level. Construction of bentonite cut-off wall bypassing MSW landfill reduces the risk of mercury release into ground-water environment.
Medical subject headings
- Environmental Monitoring
- Mercury
- Refuse Disposal
- Soil Pollutants
- Waste Disposal Facilities
- Water Pollutants, Chemical