Environmental Impact of Solid Waste Near Salogra Dump Site, Solan

Abstract

In the present study, the physico-chemical, bacteriological and heavy metal testing carried out for leachate, surface, ground water and soil samples collected from municipal solid waste landfill site and different water sources in Sologra, Solan to find out the effect of leachate percolation on environment. Testing was done for two seasons. Physico-chemical parameters analysed were, pH, Total Dissolve Solid (TDS), sulphate, turbidity, Electrical Conductivity (EC) while biological parameters tested were Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Most Probable Number (MPN) test and ammonical nitrogen. Testing for heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Fe) was carried out and has been reported. AAS was used to determine the metal contents. The results were compared with the WHO standards for drinking water quality. The results reveal that the leachate from the unlined landfill may have a significant impact on the groundwater resource (often used as drinking source) particularly because of the toxic nature of the leachate coupled with the soil characteristics which is permeable in nature. The research work dispense the indicator set for integrated sustainable waste management in different cities to allow the benchmarking of the cities performance, comparing cities and monitoring development over time. The analysis results shows that the Solan city don’t have adequate solid waste management system till the present time.