Solid waste leachates impacting land and water in a suburb of Chennai

摘要

Effect of rainfall was simulated on the solid waste that is found dumped randomly by the roadside, near residential dwellings, and on patches of open land in Manali, a suburb of Chennai which houses a cluster of hazardous industries known as the Manali Industrial Complex. Solid waste taken from nine randomly chosen locations was studied for the quality of leachate it produced. All samples generated highly polluting leachetes when subjected to simulated rainfall; the extent of pollution did not diminish with time upto 10 days of observation. The study shows the extent of adverse impact the solid waste dumps are capable of exerting on the land and water resources of the study area.