{"title":"Geochemical markers in the detection and identification of fossil fuels in waste material from an illegal landfill fire","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.apgeochem.2024.106214","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Organic compounds, including <em>n</em>-alkanes, steranes, pentacyclic triterpanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons, often originate from industrial activities, vehicle emissions, used transformer oils, biomass combustion, and also natural organic matter. The unprotected surroundings of former industrial sites, especially those affected by fire, pose significant risks to public health and the environment, particularly soil and water. These compounds are also excellent geochemical markers for determining the material that was used to ignite the fire, including petroleum products, oils, greases, and gasoline. This study presents research findings from an illegal landfill in Sosnowiec, Poland, which caught fire in 2020, leading to the combustion of petroleum substances, plastics, and other waste. The study found PAH<sub>sum</sub> concentrations ranging from 4.57 to 302.45 ppm in soil samples and from 3.04 to 27211.98 ppm in burnt solid waste samples, indicating significant contamination. The test results confirmed that the main sources of these pollutants in the analyzed research area were, among other things, greases, industrial oils, products from solid fuel processing, and coal waste. The use of pentacyclic triterpanes (hopanes and moretanes) seems to be the most effective diagnostic method to detect the presence of organic fossil fuels in waste samples. This research underscores the critical need to monitor and control illegal landfills to prevent fires and limit the exposure of communities and the environment to toxic pollutants. The methodologies applied here could be adopted globally to address soil and water pollution in similar contexts. By using these techniques, researchers could better interpret and manage environmental data, ultimately improving pollution control strategies worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8064,"journal":{"name":"Applied Geochemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Geochemistry","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292724003196","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Organic compounds, including n-alkanes, steranes, pentacyclic triterpanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and alkyl aromatic hydrocarbons, often originate from industrial activities, vehicle emissions, used transformer oils, biomass combustion, and also natural organic matter. The unprotected surroundings of former industrial sites, especially those affected by fire, pose significant risks to public health and the environment, particularly soil and water. These compounds are also excellent geochemical markers for determining the material that was used to ignite the fire, including petroleum products, oils, greases, and gasoline. This study presents research findings from an illegal landfill in Sosnowiec, Poland, which caught fire in 2020, leading to the combustion of petroleum substances, plastics, and other waste. The study found PAHsum concentrations ranging from 4.57 to 302.45 ppm in soil samples and from 3.04 to 27211.98 ppm in burnt solid waste samples, indicating significant contamination. The test results confirmed that the main sources of these pollutants in the analyzed research area were, among other things, greases, industrial oils, products from solid fuel processing, and coal waste. The use of pentacyclic triterpanes (hopanes and moretanes) seems to be the most effective diagnostic method to detect the presence of organic fossil fuels in waste samples. This research underscores the critical need to monitor and control illegal landfills to prevent fires and limit the exposure of communities and the environment to toxic pollutants. The methodologies applied here could be adopted globally to address soil and water pollution in similar contexts. By using these techniques, researchers could better interpret and manage environmental data, ultimately improving pollution control strategies worldwide.
期刊介绍:
Applied Geochemistry is an international journal devoted to publication of original research papers, rapid research communications and selected review papers in geochemistry and urban geochemistry which have some practical application to an aspect of human endeavour, such as the preservation of the environment, health, waste disposal and the search for resources. Papers on applications of inorganic, organic and isotope geochemistry and geochemical processes are therefore welcome provided they meet the main criterion. Spatial and temporal monitoring case studies are only of interest to our international readership if they present new ideas of broad application.
Topics covered include: (1) Environmental geochemistry (including natural and anthropogenic aspects, and protection and remediation strategies); (2) Hydrogeochemistry (surface and groundwater); (3) Medical (urban) geochemistry; (4) The search for energy resources (in particular unconventional oil and gas or emerging metal resources); (5) Energy exploitation (in particular geothermal energy and CCS); (6) Upgrading of energy and mineral resources where there is a direct geochemical application; and (7) Waste disposal, including nuclear waste disposal.