Life After Disposal

In the landfill environment, PFAS from consumer wastes can migrate into landfill byproducts, leachate and gas, posing management challenges to operators. With waste decomposition, PFAS profiles and concentrations in leachate and gas may change, but the extent, relationships, and long-term trends within/between gas versus leachate byproducts is not well understood – impacting effective management of these chemicals at landfills. The fate and behavior of PFAS within landfill environments is being studied through simulated landfill reactors, monitoring PFAS releases to gas and leachate over time, to reveal PFAS behavior and inform future management efforts.