Contamination valuation of soil and groundwater source at anaerobic municipal solid waste landfill site

The present work aimed to determine the risks that formed landfill leachate from anaerobic Erbil Landfill Site (ELS) poses on groundwater source and to observe the effects of disposed municipal solid waste (MSW) on soil properties. The study further aims to fill the gap in studies on the effects of disposed MSW and produced leachate on the groundwater characteristics and soil quality at ELS, Iraq. Soil, leachate, and groundwater samples were collected from ELS for use as samples in this study. Unpolluted groundwater samples were collected from an area outside of the landfill. Field and laboratory experiments for the soil samples were conducted. Chemical analyses for the soil samples such as organic matter, total salts, and SO4 (=) were also performed. Raw leachate and groundwater samples were analyzed using physical and chemical experiments. The yields for sorptivity, steady-state infiltration rate, and hydraulic conductivity of the soil samples were 0.0006 m/√s, 0.00004 m/s, and 2.17 × 10(-5) m/s, respectively. The soil at ELS was found to be light brown clayey gravel with sand and light brown gravely lean clay layers with low permeability. Unprocessed leachate analysis identified the leachate as stabilized. Findings showed that the soil and groundwater at the anaerobic ELS were contaminated.