Presence and fate of trace chemicals in municipal solid waste landfill leachate

Landfilling is still one of the most common techniques to dispose of waste; consequently, many products containing dangerous compounds will find their way to municipal solid waste landfills. Landfills generate emission during all their lifetime and in particular leachate pose a serious post-closure problem. To assess the requirements for future leachate treatment, and long-term emissions, the fate of the different pollutants in landfill must be understanded. Trace chemicals are defined as compounds that are not currently covered by existing water-quality regulations. Usually, they are observed in low concentrations, too low to cause acute effects, but exposure to a mixture of these compounds have the potential to cause adverse ecological and/or human health effects. In this thesis we present a literature review on the presence and fate of trace chemical in landfill, describing their characteristics and presenting various leaching tests made to predict their long-term behaviour.