Ionic Concentration of Leachate and Resistivity of Strata in Some Landfill Sites


Kazuo Kamura*, Noboru Ebihara** and Yu Hara*
* Environmental Research Center of Chiba
** Chiba Prefectural Government
† Correspondence should be addressed to Kazuo Kamura:
Environmental Research Center of Chiba
（1-8-8 Iwasakinishi, Ichihara-shi, Chiba, 290-0046 Japan）


Abstract
Electrochemical properties of leachate and the relationships between leachate properties and the resistivities of strata are studied in four landfill sites. Leachate contains large amounts of Na, K, Ca, Cl and HCO3 ions. The solubility of Na, K and Cl ions is greater than Ca ion. Although the ion concentrations of HCO3 are comparatively high, they are affected by the disposed materials and subsurface conditions of landfill sites. The conductivity of leachate is mostly controlled by the concentration of the above ions. Therefore, the conductivity decreases as the waste deposits are leached by natural replenishment. In addition, the resistivity of waste deposits is closely related to the conductivity of the leachate. On the other hand, most of the resistivity profiles reflect the structure and properties of waste deposits. The temporal changes in the resistivity of waste deposits would act as suitable indicators for clarifying changes in these conditions.



Key words: landfill site, leachate, ionic concentration, conductivity, resistivity