2016 Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 44-49
In 2014, tritium was detected in the groundwater leachate at a landfill site in Kerdiffstown, County Kildare, Ireland. The objective of this work is to determine the tritium activity concentrations in the groundwater leachate at the Kerdiffstown Landfill in order to determine the leachate flow. Thirty-seven boreholes both on and off-site at Kerdiffstown landfill were sampled for groundwater leachate from September 2014 to March 2015. The leachate samples were then double distilled and analysed for tritium using a low level Liquid Scintillation Counter. Through the use of the tritium in leachate measurements made in this study, the flow of leachate from the Kerdiffstown landfill site was determined. The maximum tritium activity concentration measured at the landfill was (458±35) Bq/l. This measurement was made at a borehole located in the north-west of the site and has a depth of 70.45 mOD (meters above Ordnance Datum). Based on the measurements made in this study it is reasonable to assume that the primary source of tritium on this site is located in the north-western zone and a general flow of leachate from west to east is observed. The results of the study also indicate that leachate flow increased during periods of heavy rainfall.
