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Croatica Chemica Acta, Vol. 91 No. 1, 2018.

Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.5562/cca3145

Unsanitary Landfill Fires as a Source of a PCDD/Fs Contamination

Hana Fajković ; Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Maja Ivanić ; Rudjer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Lovorka Pitarević ; The Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Croatia, Ksaverska cesta 4, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Nemet ; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Sanda Rončević ; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Esad Prohić ; Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether a combustion process (open burning) on an unsanitary landfill produces polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), for which several media were analysed (smoked air, landfill soil, and lake sediment). The concentration of PCDD/Fs detected in the air increased over 4000 times during the landfill fire, from
0.480 fg m–3 to 1940.4 fg m–3 or expressed as Toxic Equivalency (TEQ) from 0.004 fg TEQ m–3 to 25.72 fg TEQ m–3. Increased values of PCDD/Fs were also determined in the soil from the landfill site (2597.6 ng kg-1, 48.11 ng TEQ kg-1), and the influence of combustion process occurring on the landfill was also registered in the nearby lake sediment (23.17 ng kg–1, 0.03 ng TEQ kg–1). Due to the high sedimentation rate (6.4 mm y–1), a significant contaminant dilution in the lake sediment can be expected. The results of this preliminary study point to the need of implementing a continuous long-term monitoring of PCDD/PCDFs in the landfill surrounding environment.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords

polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs); polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs); unsanitary landfill; lake sediment; open burning

Hrčak ID:

199967

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/199967

Publication date:

2.1.2018.

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