Drugs in Municipal Landfills and Landfill Leachates

Abstract

Drugs and drug metabolites are a new class of organic micropollutants which have been found in low concentrations (ng 1⁻¹ to µg 1⁻¹) in wastewater, ground and surface water (Hailing-Sørensen et al. 1997; Heberer 2002; Kümmerer 2001; Sacher et al. 2002; Spengler et al. 2001). Recent monitoring studies indicate that in many cases the main route for human drugs entering the aquatic environment is via treated or untreated sewage effluent (Sacher et al. 2002; Heberer 2002). Because it is common (and — with the exception of e.g. cytostatics — legal) practice in many countries to discard expired and unwanted drugs, household waste and landfills can also be expected to be a source of pharmaceutical products. Since many of the disposal sites are still open dumps without protective barriers and leachate collection systems, there is a danger of infiltration of contaminated leachates into the soil influencing the quality of groundwater near landfills. The present article gives an overview on the presence of drugs in municipal landfills and landfill leachates as found in the few publications available so far.