Identification of organic contaminants in leachates from industrial waste landfills

Thousands of landfills of industrial waste exist today in western countries, each containing a different mixture of materials. Their leachates thus differ in composition. General parameters that are important in the routine monitoring of leachates include the characteristics of several inorganic compounds and a few common organic chemicals such as solvents, phenols and detergents. However, these are not enough to describe the pollution potential of a landfill. More effort is needed to characterize the organic components. We have described here some of the approaches and techniques used in the analysis of organic contaminants for leachates of industrial waste landfills (IWL), as well as some results.