Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis has been to assess whether leaching from one particular Swedish
landfill site, Skörbytippen, is contributing to elevated levels of heavy metals in a ditch running
from the landfill site to the lake Mälaren in the communal region of Håbo kommun. Since the
ditch is stretching approximately five km downstream from the landfill site, in situ observations
and maps with known points of inflow was utilized to determine appropriate test points for the
collection of samples.

Soil, water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for content of organic material, pH
and conductivity. Data on plant-available elements and total amounts of heavy metals was
acquired through ICP-analysis.

The results show that the Skörby landfill is currently in the methane-forming anaerobe
development phase, which indicates that the concentration of free and complex-bound metals in
the leachate water should be low due to chemical binding with other landfill compounds. The pH
of the sediment samples was generally one unit higher than the soil samples and some of the
measured data, such as pH and conductivity, show that an environmentally disturbing discharge
of some kind of strongly alkaline chemical(s) has been made from Benders’ takpanneindustri in
close proximity to the landfill. The levels of plant-available heavy metals were generally low, but
there were some test sites where the data shows high total levels of Cd, Cu and Zn in the
sediment samples.

Under current conditions, the environmental impact of the landfill with respect to heavy metal
leaching is of relatively limited importance. The site will however need to be studied further,
since unforeseen environmental changes will influence the amounts of heavy metals that are
leached out from the landfill.