NEW DELHI: People living close to some of Delhi's landfills are routinely exposed to extremely polluted air and those drinking groundwater from the area are actually drinking water that's far from being fit for consumption. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has recently submitted a status report of air and water quality around Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa landfills which shows that the suspended particulate matter levels around these landfills are up to 30 times the standard in some places. The water is hard with very high levels of total dissolved solids which can cause it to taste bitter and be toxic in nature.
The SPM levels near Bhalswa, for instance, were about 3,633 micrograms per cubic metre while the safe standard for PM-10 (coarse air pollution particles) is only 100 micrograms per cubic metre. At another spot close to Bhalswa landfill, it was 1,571 micrograms per cubic metre. At Bawana landfill, SPM was about 777 micrograms per cubic metre and at one of the locations in Ghazipur it was 1,124 micrograms per cubic metre.
Shriram Institute of Industrial Research, which conducted the monitoring work in these areas last month, however, did not measure PM-2.5 (fine, respirable particulate matter)—a component of SPM that can get lodged in people's lungs. Neither did it estimate the levels of oxides of nitrogen or extremely toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans. Dioxins are often released near landfill sites due to burning of plastics.
The groundwater quality also seems to be very poor. Even though, DPCC didn't detect any heavy metals in the water, experts say it definitely cannot be used for drinking. "These landfills were made in way such that leachate leaked out from the dump into the soil. When they were made there was hardly any habitation around. But solid waste obviously decomposes here and, when rain falls, the leachate moves into the groundwater system. We have to learn from our mistakes. The authorities should also study how far the leachate has travelled. For instance, has it travelled from Bhalswa to, say, Mayur Vihar?" Shashank Shekhar, assistant professor of geology at DU, said. He added that such water can affect health and cause skin problems. The only saving grace is that carcinogenic heavy metals have not been detected in the samples.
Importantly, a 2012 study by the School of Environmental Sciences in Jawaharlal Nehru University has found high levels of nickel, zinc, arsenic, lead, chromium and other heavy metals in the solid waste samples collected before and after monsoon from Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla landfills which was an indication that the groundwater may also be contaminated with heavy metals.
