Identification of Threats to the Soil and Water Environment on the Example of an Inactive Landfill Site

Pollution migration is the main problem of the landfills that have been located, installed and operated without meeting basic environmental protection requirements. Undertaking effective reclamation treatments is conditioned by a good recognition of the object and its close and distant surroundings. The purpose of the work was to determine the potential hazard to the soil and water environment, based on selected factors, in the vicinity of a closed waste landfill at Głębocka Street in Warsaw. In the soil samples taken at the site from various depths, high concentrations of chlorides, EC, ammonium nitrogen and phosphates were found. Furthermore, the high ammonium nitrogen content correlated with the scent of ammonia, and the content of phosphates with the scent of organic compounds. These pollutants testify to the progressive decomposition of substances occurring in the mass of littering waste, which may pose a serious threat to groundwater. The landfill is also a potential geotechnical hazard because it is a dynamically changing object that can change stability, create caverns and landslides.