Verification of Leachate from Carcass Burial Site with Different Analysis Techniques.

Leachate from carcass burial site has been a problem in terms of environmental and human health aspect. Therefore, varied chemical analysis techniques have been studied to verify leachate from carcass burial site. In this study, concentration of ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), chloride (Cl-), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), ninhydrin reactive nitrogen (NRN), and veterinary antibiotics (VAs) was analyzed. Result showed that concentration of ammonium nitrogen, chloride and NRN was high in observation well (59.8 – 61.5 mg/L for NH4-N, 179.0 – 181.7 mg/L for Cl-, and 47.0 – 52.2 mg/L for NRN) compared to groundwater (0.7 – 1.1 mg/L for NH4-N, 3.5 – 53.8 mg/L for Cl-, and 0.0 – 0.1 mg/L for NRN). Meanwhile, concentration of nitrate nitrogen was higher in groundwater (7.9 – 128.8 mg/L) than observation well in carcass burial sites (0.1 – 0.5 mg/L). For VAs concentration, higher concentration of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in groundwater (2.80 µg/L) than observation well (0.07 µg/L) while higher concentration of chlortetracycline (CTC) and sulfathiazole (STZ) in observation well (3.40 µg/L for CTC and 3.59 µg/L for STZ) than groundwater (0.82 µg/L for CTC and 0.27 µg/L for STZ). Based on these result, selected chemical characteristics can be used to determine leaching possibility of leachate from carcass burial sites. Also, in-situ chemical analysis method, NRN, can be utilized to screen groundwater contamination. In conclusion, problems of carcass burial sites need to be resolved and especially, groundwater contamination from carcass burial sites should be prevented.