Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2023 Aug;73(8):638-648. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2023.2235313.
Leachate from landfills can be a significant challenge to manage and treat due to conventional contaminants. The addition of emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluorinatedalkyl substances (PFASs) makes treatment even more complex. PFASs enter landfills through consumer waste and have been detected in landfill leachates at varying concentrations. The design and decision-making on leachate treatment require essential information since it depends on local factors, e.g. climate, proximity to wastewater treatment plants, and waste type. This study conducted a survey on actively operated public municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in the Eastern and Northwestern regions of the US to understand the current leachate treatment practices and views from public MSW landfill managers on PFAS treatment. The survey aims to explore the possible adaptations from the industry to the pending regulatory guidelines for the potential PFASs treatment. Results show the majority of the landfills are currently using off-site disposal (72% of the responses), followed by complete onsite treatment (18% of the responses) and pre-treatment onsite and off-site disposal methods (10% of the responses). The factors that guided the selection of treatment methods included climate, economics, and future regulations. Evaporation and recirculation were the most prevalent onsite treatment technologies for public landfills, which reduced the leachate quantity for treatment. The public landfills expressed awareness of the potential impact of PFASs on the changes in leachate treatment. The current state-level regulation, potential federal PFAS regulation, and treatment costs are raising awareness of the onsite treatment for PFASs. The results of this study will benefit the improvement of PFAS awareness and provide critical information that will directly affect the leachate treatment process for PFASs.: This study presents a survey on the current leachate treatment process in the public municipal solid waste landfills in the eastern and northwestern U.S. and their potential process improvement on the impact of PFASs. This study is relevant to the topic of the JA&WMA because the research falls directly within the scope of this journal, and it documents the leachate treatment of landfills, and the results of this study will immediately contribute to our understanding of the waste treatment, benefiting the improvement of PFASs awareness, and providing critical information that will directly affect the leachate treatment process.
垃圾填埋场的渗滤液由于常规污染物而难以处理和治理。新兴污染物如全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFASs）的加入使得处理更加复杂。PFASs 通过消费者废物进入垃圾填埋场，并在不同浓度下在垃圾填埋场渗滤液中检测到。由于设计和决策取决于当地因素，例如气候、与废水处理厂的距离和废物类型，因此需要有关渗滤液处理的重要信息。本研究对美国东部和西北部的现有公共市政固体废物（MSW）填埋场进行了调查，以了解当前的渗滤液处理实践以及公共 MSW 填埋场管理者对 PFAS 处理的看法。该调查旨在探索行业可能适应潜在 PFASs 处理的即将出台的监管指南。结果表明，大多数垃圾填埋场目前正在使用场外处置（72%的回复），其次是完全现场处理（18%的回复）和现场预处理和场外处置方法（10%的回复）。选择处理方法的因素包括气候、经济和未来法规。蒸发和再循环是公共垃圾填埋场最常用的现场处理技术，可减少待处理渗滤液的数量。公共垃圾填埋场意识到 PFASs 对渗滤液处理变化的潜在影响。目前的州级法规、潜在的联邦 PFAS 法规和处理成本提高了对 PFASs 现场处理的认识。本研究的结果将有助于提高对 PFASs 的认识，并提供直接影响 PFASs 渗滤液处理过程的关键信息。
