NON-AVAILABILITY OF METALS FROM AN URBAN LANDFILL IN VIRGINIA

A toxicological assessment of a landfill, located in the Fort Darling Unit of Richmond National Battlefield Park (RICH), Virginia, was condu cted from 1989 to 1992, After using acute and chronic toxicity tests, and priority pollutant analysis on shipped samples of water and sedime nts collected from a small unnamed tributary to the James River, and w ater collected from four monitoring wells constructed into the landfil l, it was concluded that toxic conditions to aquatic life did not exis t, For acute tests conducted on tributary water and sediments, three s pecies of traditionally used aquatic organisms (Ceriodaphnia dubia, Pi mphales promalas, Hyalella azteca) and one plant species (Latuca sativ a) were used. For chronic tests conducted on tributary water, Ceriodap hnia dubia was used. Priority pollutant analyses of tributary water an d sediments and water from monitoring wells in the landfill also did n ot reveal organic or inorganic chemicals at hazardous levels although metal concentrations in sediments often exceeded thousands of parts pe r million. An analysis of metals in both tributary water acid sediment s suggest that metals entering the tributary through the landfill's le achates precipitate out of the water and armour the substrate preventi ng the establishment of permanent aquatic life.