Level of mercury and copper in groundwater at Pulau Burung sanitary landfill

Abstract

Sanitary landfill is one of the waste management system applied in Malaysia. Improper management of the landfill will result in contamination of the surrounding area especially water and groundwater due to the production of high amount of leachate. Pulau Burung Sanitary Landfill is one of the Sanitary Landfill Level III with proper management of leachate. This facility will ensure the groundwater quality produced by the landfill is below Standard B by DOE. A study had been done to quantify the level of mercury and copper in the groundwater in five stations at the PBSL for six months and sampling is taken 2 times per month. The average levels of mercury and copper for 5 stations are 0.01mg/l and 0.2mg/l respectively; comparatively lower than standard B.