Impact of Leachate on Bore Well along the Perimeter of Papua New Guinea University of Technology Due to Open Dump site

Abstract

 Water is a valuable resource and is vulnerable to contamination. Waterborne diseases are rampant in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The samples are extracted along the perimeter of PNG University of Technology to investigate the impact of leachates on the bore wells due to the dumping of municipal solid waste (MSW) or waste materials along the boundary. In this study, the major contaminants determined include microbiological, physico-chemical parameters of ground and surface water, and heavy metal (Cd, Pb, and Hg) contaminants. The results from water analyses significantly show a high concentration of total coliforms and heavy metal contamination when compared to the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines for drinking water quality. The results indicate that bore wells near the dumping sites contained microbial and heavy metal contaminants. The positive total coliform and detection of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in bore wells nearer the dumping area are indications of contaminants leaching and impacting the bore wells