Landfills are a climate disaster. In some regions of the world, they have become the main emitters of methane (CH4)), a powerful greenhouse gas. How ? By the action of microorganismsmicroorganisms which decompose waste producing a gazgaz known as discharge composed approximately half of CH4 – and for the rest, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) which is not much better in mattermatter of climate.
Eternal greenhouse gases and chemicals
So, a discharge which « rote » releases gases into the atmosphere that are harmful to our climate. But that’s not all, researchers from American Chemical Society in the Environmental Science & Technology Letters. They show that burps from landfills also contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the famous so-called eternal chemicals known by the acronym PFAS. Products that potentially pose a danger to the environment and our health.
The team had previously established that waste containing PFAS can contaminate water that seeps into landfills. But while this leachate is usually treated before being released into the environment, the gases that escape from landfills are often released without treatment.
As many PFAS in the air as in the water
Measurements carried out by researchers in three landfills in Florida (United States) show that the levels of certain PFAS – alcoholsalcohols fluorotelomers especially – in landfill gases are up to two orders of magnitudeorders of magnitude higher than those found in previous studies carried out in other landfills. Result, the quantity annualannual of perennial chemicals exiting landfills through gas emissions could be similar, or even greater, than the amount exiting through leachate. Hence the importance of taking these gases into account in exposure mitigation strategies. The effectiveness of vapor incineration to eliminate these PFAS should in particular be studied very seriously.
