Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Volume 57, December 2011, pp. 13-18

Groundwater quality at two landfill sites in Selangor, Malaysia

Mohd Raihan Taha¹, Wan Zuhairi Wan Yaacob², Abd Rahim Samsudin² & Jasni Yaakob³

¹Department of Civil & Struct Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
Email address: drmrt@eng.ukm.my
² School of Environmental Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
³Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia  

Abstract: The groundwater quality in and around two landfills sites in the state of Selangor, Malaysia is studied to evaluate levels of contamination around an unengineered site and an engineered site. The two landfill sites are Ampar Tenang and Bukit Tagar. Data were obtained through site sampling from available boreholes. In addition results from published data and reports of previous works are used for analysis. The data indicate serious groundwater contamination in and around unengineered landfill sites. Analytical data include quality of groundwater, leachate and surface water in which many parameters were above the regulatory limits. Whereas, at the engineered site, contamination was generally below the standards. The findings serve to warn waste management industry stakeholders in Malaysia that for sustainability, unengineered landfills must be closed and cleaned up.

Keywords: landfill, groundwater quality, leachate, Selangor

 https://doi.org/10.7186/bgsm57201103