Geo-Pollution Science, Medical Geology and Urban Geology
Vol.2

No.1

2006

ContentsArticle
1

The waste solid wax containing VOCs and man-made strata in the municipal waste disposal site
Masahito OWAKI, Toru ITAZU, Kenji NANBA, Iku MIYASAKA, Asuka TAKAHASHI and Hisashi NIREI

Report17

Health Hazards of Arsenic-contaminated Water in Pakistan: The Case of Chahklalanwala Village, District Kasur

RAHMAN Atiq Mohhamad and Takeshi KOMAI

Letters23

The Joint International Symposia for Subsurface Microbiology (ISSM 2005) and Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEBXVII) - geomicrobiology
Mio TAKEUCHI**NewsThe waste solid wax containing VOCs and man-made strata in the municipal waste
disposal site
Masahito OWAKI1, Toru ITAZU1, Kenji NANBA2, Iku MIYASAKA3, Asuka TAKAHASHI4 and Hisashi NIREI5
1: Graduate school of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University, 2-1-1, Bunkyo, Mito, 310-8512 Japan
2: Graduate school of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Present address: Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science, Fukushima University, 1, Kanayagawa, Fukushima, 960-1296 Japan
3: Graduate school of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Present address: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., 1, Shin-Nakaharama-cho, Isogo, Yokohama, 235-0031 Japan
4: Tanaka Kankyo Kaihatsu Corp., 2-42-3, Minami-Otsuka, Toshima, Tokyo, 170-0005 Japan
5: Center for Water Environment Studies, Ibaraki University, 1375, Ohu, Itako, 311-2402 Japan

Abstract
Japan’s rapid economic growth in the last half-century has led to the need for numerous final disposal sites.
However, landfill capacity is currently not keeping up with the ever-increasing volumes of waste, and field studies andresearches into final disposal sites are not offering solutions rapidly enough. We base this study on records of the strata ofwaste layers and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) concentration distribution in ground air and strata in a municipal
waste disposal site.
Our investigations of VOC concentration distribution at a municipal waste disposal site revealed that waste solid
wax contained VOCs. We confirmed, in a detailed analysis, that this material was polyethylene or paraffin wax containing
trichloroethylene (TCE) at approximately 70 g/kg and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene at 2 g/kg. Because of the presence of waste
solid wax, the VOC concentration levels in ground air are high and very localized. Furthermore, the VOC concentrationlevels in deposits and leachate water through the waste layer are very low.
In the subsurface, we observed that the behavior of VOCs emitted from waste solid wax differs completely fromthat of the dense, non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) of VOCs, and it was clear that waste wax can be a significant sourceof VOC concentration.

Keyword: VOCs, TCE, polyethylene wax, paraffin wax, waste disposal site

Health Hazards of Arsenic-contaminated Water in Pakistan: The Case ofChahklalanwala Village, District Kasur
RAHMAN Atiq Mohhamad and Takeshi KOMAI
Institute of Geo resources and Environment (GREEN), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba,Ibaraki, 305-8569 Japan e-mail: atiq@uderc.com

Abstract
The Punjab province in Pakistan is facing a growing threat of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater. Consumptionof arsenic-contaminated groundwater has recently imposed severe health impact both in rural and urban areas of Punjab.
In this research, a village named Chahklalanwala (Chah-kalalan-wala) was selected in Kasur district in order to study thehealth hazards of arsenic and fluoride contamination in rural areas of Pakistan. This village can be called as a little
Minamata of Pakistan in terms of water related diseases. This paper mainly aims to discuss the contamination level ofArsenic and Fluorides in drinking water, health situation in Chahkalalanwala Village, and our approach of socialorganization to enable local communities for environmental self-governance.

Keyword: Pakistan, Japan, Arsenic, Water, Environment, GIS