Evaluation of Landfill Leachate Toxicity and Treatment System Performance at the Merrick Landfill

摘要

Landfill leachate is comprised of a wide range of constituents that are detrimental to the receiving environment, including degradable organics, ammonia, and metals. At the Merrick Landfill located outside of North Bay, ON, CA, testing is being conducted on a hybrid-passive treatment system to determine the effectiveness of leachate treatment and existing natural attenuation at reducing the impact of leachate seeps on the receiving environment. The evaluation of the leachate is being undertaken using acute lethality testing with Rainbow Trout. Investigation of the toxicity of several locations using 96hr acute toxicity tests at the site have determined that the existing capture strategies are largely effective at reducing the risk to the receiving environment. Summer performance of a gravel wetland system has shown to be effective at reducing the toxicity of the landfill leachate at the site.