Abstract: We investigated migration of pollutant at the base of the Suzhou landfill after it had been operated for 13 years. The investigation was carried out by performing chemical analyses on the soil samples taken from the silty clay deposit. Concentrations of chloride, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the heavy metals in the soil samples were determined using the standard methods. The experimental data showed that the maximum migration depth of chloride was more than 10 m, while the maximum migration depth of COD varied between 1 and 3.5 m. It is believed that the difference is attributed to the variation in diffusion rate and leachate-soil interaction. The chloride profiles also indicated that advection may be the dominant contaminant transport mechanism at this site. The total contents of Cu, Pb and Cr are very close to the background levels and the concentration values of these metals mainly are lower than the threshold values specified by the Chinese soil quality standard and the European one. The water-extractable concentrations of COD in the surface of the silty clay generally exceed the limit value specified by the Chinese standard. The concentrations of copper and chromium in pore water are 1~2 orders of magnitude less than the total concentrations of these heavy metals within the soils, implying that heavy metals are mainly adsorbed by the soil particles. Finally, remediation methods were suggested for this landfill site.

Key words: Uncontrolled landfill, Field investigation, Contaminant migration, Soil contamination, Heavy metals, Organic contaminants, Chloride

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