Benzene- and naphthalenesulfonates in leachates and plumes of landfills

Benzene- and naphthalenesulfonates (BS, NS) are xenobiotic, highly water-so luble chemical compounds that are used for the production of many consumer products such as fluorescent whitening agents, dyes, or concrete plasticize rs, and for Various applications in industrial processes. They are mainly i ntroduced into ambient waters by industrial or municipal wastewater directl y or following municipal sewage treatment. In order to characterize an addi tional pathway for BS and NS into the environment, leachates and groundwate r samples collected from the pollution plumes of four Swiss landfills were investigated. The samples were analyzed using ion-pair liquid chromatograph y with UV absorption and fluorescence detection. Liquid chromatography coup led to mass spectrometry was performed for the selective identification of aromatic monosulfonates. The results show that landfill sites are point sou rces for BS and NS in the aquatic environment. BS and NS were measured in t he leachates at a wide concentration range from a few mu g l(-1) up to seve ral mg l(-1), depending on the composition of the deposited material. Their contribution to the leachate DOC was from below 1 parts per thousand up to around 30%. BS and NS were also found in groundwater samples contaminated by percolating leachates. The concentrations, which contributed less than 1 parts per thousand to the groundwater DOG, ranged from a few ng l(-1) to s everal mu g l(-1). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.