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Landfill Leachate Ecotoxicity

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Encyclopedia of Aquatic Ecotoxicology

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Definition

Landfill leachate is according to the EU Council Directive 1999/31EC defined as “any liquid percolating through deposited waste and emitted or contained within a landfill.” This definition of landfill leachate will be used in this entry, and any ecotoxicity detected in this type of effluent will be termed landfill leachate ecotoxicity.

Limitations in the Study

To date, most information acquired on the physical and chemical characteristics of landfill leachate has been on MSW (municipal solid waste) landfill leachate. The studies presented and discussed in this entry are therefore mainly considering landfill leachate derived from MSW landfills or MSW landfills with some hazardous waste. Thus, effluents from hazardous industrial waste sites only have not been included nor have studies on waste ecotoxicity before deposition. The entry refers to several references; however, it should not be considered as a complete review.

The Complex and Varying Composition of Landfill Leachate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wetland Center, School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, 823, 301 18, Halmstad, Sweden

    Sylvia Waara

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  1. Sylvia Waara
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Correspondence to Sylvia Waara .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), Université de Lorraine, Metz, France

    Jean-François Férard

  2. Aquatic Ecosystem Protection Research Division, Water Science and Technology Directorate, Environment Canada, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Christian Blaise

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Waara, S. (2013). Landfill Leachate Ecotoxicity. In: Férard, JF., Blaise, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Aquatic Ecotoxicology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5704-2_61

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