Heavy Metals Monitoring in Leachate from Landfill Site of Qazvin, Iran

Background & Aims of the Study: Leachate production is a major problem for solid waste landfills and causes important threat to health public and environment. One of the typical properties of heavy metals is that they cannot easily decompose in the environment. The aim of this study was to measure of heavy metals concentrations in old-age leachate from Qazvin landfill site, Iran. Materials & Methods: Sampling was conducted during summer 2014 from the leachate which was produced in Qazvin landfill site in Lia park. The concentration of heavy metals including Zn, Ni, Hg, Cu, Co, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, and Pb along with pH were measured based on the standard method. Results: The results of this study indicated the leachate generated from Qazvin landfill site, contains large amounts of different heavy metals. The mean concentration of Zn, Ni, Hg, Cu, Co, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, and Pb were 2.8, 0.2, 0.01, 0.1, 0.08, 0.04, 0.04, 4.6, 1.4 and 1.3 ml/L, respectively. Also pH value was 8.4. The concentration of Fe, Pb, Zn and Mn in the landfill leachate was higher than the permissible standard value which was suggested by Department of Environmental (DOE). Conclusion: The results suggest that we can achieve the permissible standards to discharge effluents into the surface water, absorbing well and agricultural irrigation by applying biological and physicochemical methods.