Do high levels of PPCPs in landfill leachates influence the water environment in the vicinity of landfills? A case study of the largest landfill in China

Xia Yu; Qian Sui; Shuguang Lyu; Wentao Zhao; Xuqi Cao; Jiusi Wang; Gang Yu

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105404

Do high levels of PPCPs in landfill leachates influence the water environment in the vicinity of landfills? A case study of the largest landfill in China

Environ Int. 2020 Feb:135:105404. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105404. Epub 2019 Dec 20.

Authors

Xia Yu¹, Qian Sui², Shuguang Lyu³, Wentao Zhao⁴, Xuqi Cao¹, Jiusi Wang⁵, Gang Yu⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
² State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: suiqian@ecust.edu.cn.
³ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Environmental Risk Assessment and Control on Chemical Process, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
⁵ Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA.
⁶ Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.

PMID: 31865278
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105404

Abstract

Landfill leachates are identified as a significant source of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), which might pose a threat to groundwater and surface water nearby the landfill. However, knowledge of PPCP contamination in the surrounding water environment of landfills is very limited. Here we investigated eighteen PPCPs in water environment near the largest landfill in China, focusing on their occurrences and spatial distribution, as well as the environmental risks. The results showed the concentration of target PPCPs was below the limit of quantification (<LOQ) to 53.6 ng/L in the adjacent groundwater samples, decreasing with the distance of sampling sites from landfill. The composition pattern of PPCPs in the groundwater was similar to that in raw landfill leachate. These observations indicated a considerable impact of raw landfill leachates on PPCP contamination in the nearby groundwater. In surface water samples, the occurrence of PPCPs was not consistent with that in raw or treated landfill leachates, but similar to that in the same watershed far away from landfill. Spatially, no obvious difference in the PPCPs concentrations was observed, indicating negligible contribution of landfill on PPCPs in surrounding surface water. The findings allowed the first insights into the impacts of well-constructed and managed landfills on PPCP contamination in the surrounding water environment.

Keywords: Groundwater; Landfill leachates; Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs); Risk; Surface water.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Cosmetics*
Environmental Monitoring
Groundwater
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Waste Disposal Facilities
Water Pollutants, Chemical

Substances

Cosmetics
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Water Pollutants, Chemical