An Innovative Approach to Assess the Ecotoxicological Risks of Soil Exposed to Solid Waste

Despina-Maria Bordean, Luminita Pirvulescu, Mariana-Atena Poiana, Ersilia Alexa, Antoanela Cozma, Diana Nicoleta Raba, Aurica Breica Borozan, Corina Dana Misca, Adriana Morar, Diana Obistioiu and Ioan Ladislau Caba
Additional contact information
Despina-Maria Bordean: Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Luminita Pirvulescu: Faculty of Management and Rural Tourism, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Mariana-Atena Poiana: Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Ersilia Alexa: Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Antoanela Cozma: Faculty of Agriculture, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Diana Nicoleta Raba: Faculty of Management and Rural Tourism, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Aurica Breica Borozan: Faculty of Horticulture and Forestry, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Corina Dana Misca: Faculty of Food Engineering, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Adriana Morar: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Diana Obistioiu: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Calea Aradului No. 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania
Ioan Ladislau Caba: Branch of Agricultural Mechanical Engineers in Romania—BAMER Timisoara, 1989 Revolution Avenue 15A, 300034 Timisoara, Romania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: The adoption of sustainable waste management strategies is a challenge faced by most European countries, mainly due to the need to generate less waste and replace landfills with new methods of waste treatment, associated with increases in the separate collection of waste and recycling rates. This paper highlights the significance of environmental legislation regarding waste removal to protect ecosystems. The aim was to predict ecological responses to heavy metals in soil exposed to hazardous waste and to identify environmental hazards in landfills, small illegal waste dumps, and litter, in addition to identifying if heavy metal accumulation in the investigated soil samples showed a single or cumulative risk. This is an innovative method to predict the ecological risk generated by hazardous waste landfills. The assessment of ecological risks was based on the evaluation of a heavy metal soil contamination factor, pollution index of soil loadings, a geo-accumulation index for heavy metals, and potential ecological risk. The current study is also the first to attempt to identify the dimension of risk based on the type of waste deposit (landfill, small illegal waste dump, and litter) and to identify potential patterns. The geological index corresponding to cadmium I geo (Cd) showed heavy contamination in the soil samples from the landfill and moderate contamination for those from the illegal waste dumps. These findings indicate that soil contamination is influenced by contamination time, anthropogenic processes, and a history of industrial activity, and not only by waste composition and storage. The present study shows that cadmium might be considered a latent fingerprint for waste disposal, which is correlated to the industrialization level and rehabilitation procedures.

Keywords: latent fingerprint; landfill; illegal waste dumps; ecological indices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6141-:d:565250

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