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Landfill Disposal of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances - State of the Science
Citation:
Tolaymat, T. AND N. Robey. Landfill Disposal of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances - State of the Science. Disposal and Destruction of PFAS in Difficult to Treat Water Matrices, Cincinnati, OH, April 11, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
This manuscript critically reviews state and federal initiatives and peer-reviewed literature to define best practices for managing PFAS-containing solid wastes and identify data gaps to guide future research. The objective is to inform stakeholders about waste-derived PFAS disposed of in landfills, PFAS emissions, and related environmental impacts. A number of articles, including reviews, have been published on this topic, however, this manuscript is unique in a number of ways. Most published manuscripts focus exclusively on MSW landfills, here, we discuss the wider universe of solid waste. Most reviews focus on leachates and solids only, this review includes an analysis of the published literature on landfill gas, as well. This is the most exhaustive review of PFAS in landfills to date, with a discussion of the data availability for multiple landfill types, including MSW, C&D, MSWI ash, hazardous waste, and industrial waste landfills. We discuss the reported effectiveness of (and identify data gaps with respect to) traditional landfill leachate and gas management systems for retaining or destroying PFAS. We provide a literature-based estimate of the mass balance of PFAS in MSW landfills – calculating the fraction of PFAS which are emitted via leachate, gas, and the fraction which remains in the landfill.
Description:
This presentation provides a critical review of state and federal initiatives and peer-reviewed literature to define best practices for managing PFAS-containing solid wastes and identify data gaps to guide future research. The objective is to inform stakeholders about waste-derived PFAS disposed of in landfills, PFAS emissions, and related environmental impacts. A number of articles, including reviews, have been published on this topic. However, this manuscript is unique in a number of ways. Most published manuscripts focus exclusively on MSW landfills; here, we discuss the wider universe of solid waste. Most reviews focus on leachates and solids only, this review includes an analysis of the published literature on landfill gas, as well. This is the most exhaustive review of PFAS in landfills to date, with a discussion of the data availability for multiple landfill types, including MSW, C&D, MSWI ash, hazardous waste, and industrial waste landfills. We discuss the reported effectiveness of (and identify data gaps with respect to) traditional landfill leachate and gas management systems for retaining or destroying PFAS. We provide a literature-based estimate of the mass balance of PFAS in MSW landfills – calculating the fraction of PFAS which are emitted via leachate and gas and the fraction that remains in the landfill.