Environmental and health impacts assessment of long-term naturally-weathered municipal solid waste incineration ashes deposited in soil—old burden in Bratislava city, Slovakia

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) is an effective method for reducing the volume/mass of waste. However, MSWI ashes contain high concentrations of many substances, including trace metal (loid)s, that could be released into the environment and contaminate soils and groundwater. In this study, attention was focused on the site near the municipal solid waste incinerator where MSWI ashes are deposited on the surface without any control. Here, combined results (chemical and mineralogical analyses, leaching tests, speciation modelling, groundwater chemistry and human health risk assessment) are presented to assess the impact of MSWI ash on the surrounding environment. The mineralogy of ∼forty years old MSWI ash was diverse, and quartz, calcite, mullite, apatite, hematite, goethite, amorphous glasses and several Cu-bearing minerals (e.g. malachite, brochantite) were commonly detected. In general, the total concentrations of metal (loid)s in MSWI ashes were high, following the order: Zn (6731 mg/kg) > Ba (1969 mg/kg) ≈ Mn (1824 mg/kg) > Cu (1697 mg/kg) > Pb (1453 mg/kg) > Cr (247 mg/kg) > Ni (132 mg/kg) > Sb (59.4 mg/kg) > As (22.9 mg/kg) ≈ Cd (20.6 mg/kg). Cadmium, Cr, Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn exceeded the indication or even intervention criteria for industrial soils defined by the Slovak legislation. Batch leaching experiments with diluted citric and oxalic acids that simulate the leaching of chemical elements under rhizosphere conditions documented low dissolved fractions of metals (0.00–2.48%) in MSWI ash samples, showing their high geochemical stability. Non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were below the threshold values of 1.0 and 1 × 10(−6), respectively, with soil ingestion being the most important exposure route for workers. The groundwater chemistry was unaffected by deposited MSWI ashes. This study may be useful in determining the environmental risks of trace metal (loid)s in weathered MSWI ashes that are loosely deposited on the soil surface.