INVESTIGATION AND EVALUATION OF H2S EMISSIONS FROM A MUNICIPAL LANDFILL

The aim of investigation was to evaluate the degree of pollution caused by a municipal landfill and determine the dependence of the amounts of emissions of the odorant hydrogen sulphide (H2S) on different parameters of the environment. The Jerubaiciai landfill in Plunge district was selected for the investigation. Measurements were recorded at 59 points and 2 monitoring wells. The measurement points and places were selected so that the landfill places generating the largest amounts of H2S and the directions of pollutant movement are identified. It was determined that the amounts of H2S varied from 0.9 ppm (in February) to 8.6 ppm (in August) in different places of the landfill. The largest amounts of H2S were identified in the areas of freshly-tipped waste. Odorants in these zones are generated during waste tipping out of trucks or waste pushing. H2S generation in the top layer of waste changes during the day and different seasons of the year. It is mainly influenced by air temperature. No dependence between H2S generation velocity and air humidity or pressure was identified.