Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, P.O. Box 11-0236 Riad el Solh, 1107 2020, Beirut, Lebanon.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Dec 2;193(12):857. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-09640-8.
Municipal solid waste management remains a major challenge for many developing countries where unsanitary and environmentally damaging practices, such as open dumping and burning of wastes, are consistently utilized as means of waste disposal. This study aimed to assess the impact of local dumpsites in a region in Southern Lebanon and to assess/determine the level of pollution they cause on local ecosystems and the concomitant risks to public health. Accordingly, soil and water samples were collected from the seven dumpsites that were investigated over the course of two seasons. Several biological, chemical, and physical parameters were examined, with the results being utilized to calculate a number of environmental indices. Results indicated that several soil parameters including TN (700-2400 mg/kg), pH (8.3-8.7), COD (39-1995 mg/kg), and sulfate levels (17.8-301.6 mg/kg) were altered by the dumpsites. Heavy metal concentrations varied between dumpsites; however, the most commonly prevalent metals across all dumps were Fe (992-41,500 mg/kg), Cr (17.4-139.5 mg/kg), Zn (24.1-177.4 mg/kg), Cu (9.42-148.2 mg/kg), and Mn (25.2-776.5 mg/kg), though recorded concentrations exceeded permissible limits only in certain instances. Evidently, soil samples collected at dumpsites had higher concentrations compared to the samples collected away from dumpsites reaching 27 times more in certain locations. The altered parameters have a direct effect on soil fertility and, if biomagnified, could disrupt crop yields and impact human health. Physiochemical properties and heavy metal concentrations in water samples were not significantly altered and were found to be within permissible limits. However, it is crucial to develop a monitoring and remediation plan to decrease the percolation of leachate to water resources.
城市固体废物管理仍然是许多发展中国家面临的主要挑战，这些国家一直采用不卫生和破坏环境的做法，如露天倾倒和废物焚烧，作为废物处理的手段。本研究旨在评估黎巴嫩南部一个地区的当地垃圾场的影响，并评估/确定它们对当地生态系统造成的污染程度以及对公众健康的伴随风险。因此，在两个季节内，从七个被调查的垃圾场收集了土壤和水样。检查了几个生物、化学和物理参数，并用结果计算了一些环境指数。结果表明，包括 TN（700-2400mg/kg）、pH（8.3-8.7）、COD（39-1995mg/kg）和硫酸盐水平（17.8-301.6mg/kg）在内的几个土壤参数都被垃圾场改变了。重金属浓度在垃圾场之间有所不同；然而，在所有垃圾场中最常见的金属是 Fe（992-41500mg/kg）、Cr（17.4-139.5mg/kg）、Zn（24.1-177.4mg/kg）、Cu（9.42-148.2mg/kg）和 Mn（25.2-776.5mg/kg），尽管记录的浓度仅在某些情况下超过了允许的限度。显然，与远离垃圾场收集的样本相比，在垃圾场收集的土壤样本中浓度更高，某些地点的浓度高达 27 倍。改变的参数直接影响土壤肥力，如果生物放大，可能会破坏作物产量并影响人类健康。水样的理化性质和重金属浓度没有明显改变，并且在允许的限度内。然而，制定监测和修复计划以减少渗滤液对水资源的渗透至关重要。
