A Survey on Municipal Waste Problems (Case of Mashhad)

The Main aim of this study was to evaluate heavy metals concentration (lead, cadmium, chromium, copper and nickel) in downstream wells of Mashhad landfill (located near the compost site) as a problem of municipal wastes of Mashhad Mega polis. . Samples were taken from five wells. The results showed that the maximum and minimum levels of heavy metals in the wells that were studied in summer contained nickel and cadmium, respectively. In the winter, the maximum and minimum levels of metals in the wells were lead and cadmium. The results also showed that concentration levels of the heavy metals cadmium, chromium, copper and lead in these two seasons were under the World Health Organization’s standard; however, nickel in summer was higher than WHO’s standard levels. Also, according to statistical results, with the exception of lead, there was no significant correlation (P?0.05) between the amounts of any heavy metals with wells distance from the landfill.