In recent years thousands have been closed, while many still are being used. In many cases, they are located wherever land is available, without regard to safety, health hazard and esthetic degradation. The waste is often piled as high as equipment allows. In some instances, the refuse is ignited and allowed to burn. In others, the refuse is periodically leveled and compacted (Sabahi et al. 2009). The dumping of solid waste in uncontrolled landfills can cause significant impacts on the environment and human health (Dong et al. 2008).
major cations such as Ca2?, Mg 2?, and Fe2?, major anions such as NO3-, Cl -, and SO42- and heavy metals such as Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn. The results indicated that, very few parameters such as pH, sulfates and nitrates concen- tration in the groundwater samples are within the recom- mended maximum admissible limits approved by WHO (World Health Organization 940–949, 2002) and Bureau of Indian standards (IS 10500:1991). The TDS (range between 740 and 14,200 mg/L) in groundwater reveal the saline behavior of water and was found to be
very high according to standards. The range of chlorides in all the locations under investigation is 215.15–4,098.73 mg/L. The contour plots also indicated that the groundwater was rigorously contaminated with various heavy metals. The presence of high concentration of Pb (0.59 mg/L) in groundwater samples nearby dumping site implies that groundwater samples were contaminated by leachate migration from an open dumping site.
The most commonly reported danger to the human health from these landfills is from the use of groundwater that has been contaminated by leachate (Jhamnani and Singh 2009). Leachate is produced when moisture enters the refuse in a landfill, extracts contaminants into the liquid phase, and produces moisture content sufficiently high to initiate liquid flow. Leachate is generated in a landfill as a con- sequence of the contact of water with solid waste (Lo 1996).
The generation of solid waste has become an increasing environmental and public health problem everywhere in the world, particularly in developing countries. The fast expansion of urban, agricultural and industrial activities spurred by rapid population growth and the change in consumer habits has produced vast amounts of solid wastes (Akoteyon et al. 2020). Open dumps are the oldest and the most common way of disposing of solid waste.
