Anaerobic Biodegradation of Hazardous Organics in Groundwater Down Gradient of aSanitary Landfill

摘要

Sanitary landfills constructed without engineered liners release leachate intothe subsurface, resulting in groundwater contamination. The project was undertaken to evaluate the distribution of selected organic contaminants leaching from the Wilder's Grove landfill in Raleigh, NC, and to evaluate the potential for anaerobic biodegradation of these contaminants. Wilder's Grove landfill is typical of sanitary landfills located in the Piedmont region of North Carolina and was constructed without an engineered liner or leachate control system. Results clearly show that anaerobic biotransformation processes have the potential to significantly reduce the migration of aklylbenzenes and chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons in the subsurface. Conventional monitoring techniques are not sufficiently sensitive to estimate anaerobic degradation rates in the field at a reasonable cost.