CONTAMINATION POTENTIAL OF THE ILHABELA (SP) LANDFILL
CRISTIANE L. RODRIGUES AND FABIO TAIOLI
Instituto de Geociências / USP, 05508-900 São Paulo, SP.
Presented by ANTONIO C. ROCHA-CAMPOS
Ilhabela is a city in the São Paulo northern seashore located about 220 km from the capital of the state. Its geographical position is determined by the parallels 23º42' and 23º56'S and the meridians 45º41' and 45º28'W and altitude varying from the sea level up to 1300m. The economic basis of the city are the tourism and fishing and it is known as "Sailing Capital'' (Capital da Vela) due to the optimum conditions to practice of that nautical sport. About 83% of Ilhabela's area are in the State Park (preservation area created on January 20, 1977 by Decree 9414). Its population is about 13,500 inhabitants, raising up to 150,000 during the summer season. The research area is located about 5 km from downtown Ilhabela and can be reached by the road SP 131. Previous studies pointed out that due to local land use restrictions there is no other appropriate site for the sanitary landfill. The landfill is in operation since 1987 and receives the domestic and construction solid wastes and tree trimmings generated in the county. The material is disposed on the soil and mixed with soil of the same region taken from a neighbor area. It is located in a neighborhood close to a fundamental school and several houses, and with no foundation treatment and no control of the leachate destination. Due to the high contamination potential of the leachate generated in such type of waste disposition, it may contaminate the soil, changing its physical, chemical and biological characteristics and compromising the water of rivers and groundwater by modification of its natural characteristics. This paper intends to investigate the potential of contamination of the landfill. Soil, groundwater and surface water samples were taken and chemical and physic-chemical analyses were carried out. The results suggest that the heavy metals that are carried by the leachate remain mainly associated to the soil, but may be diluted and reach the groundwater under special conditions, e.g. acid rain. In addition, the leachate is compromising the groundwater quality since chemical analyses show that other ions have already reached it. (December 14, 2001).
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
09 Oct 2002 -
Date of issue
Sept 2002
