Landfill Gas: A Major Pathway for Neutral Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) ReleaseClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Ashley M. LinAshley M. LinDepartment of Environmental Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United StatesMore by Ashley M. Lin
- Jake T. ThompsonJake T. ThompsonDepartment of Environmental Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United StatesMore by Jake T. Thompson
- Jeremy P. KoelmelJeremy P. KoelmelSchool of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United StatesMore by Jeremy P. Koelmel
- Yalan LiuYalan LiuDepartment of Environmental Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United StatesDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, United StatesMore by Yalan Liu
- John A. BowdenJohn A. BowdenDepartment of Environmental Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United StatesCenter for Environmental and Human Toxicology and Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United StatesMore by John A. Bowden
- Timothy G. Townsend*Timothy G. Townsend*Phone: 352-392-0846. Fax: 352-392-3076. E-mail: [email protected]Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, United StatesMore by Timothy G. Townsend
Abstract
The undisclosed and ubiquitous use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products has led to a growing issue of environmental pollution, particularly within the solid waste community, where the fate of volatile (neutral) PFAS in landfilled refuse is not well understood. Here, three municipal solid waste landfills in Florida were assessed for neutral PFAS in landfill gas and ionic PFAS in landfill leachate to compare the relative mobility between the two pathways. Landfill gas was directly sampled using a high volume, XAD-2 resin based sampling approach developed for adsorption and analysis of 27 neutral PFAS. Across sites, 13 neutral PFAS were identified from fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH), fluorotelomer olefin (FTO), secondary FTOH, fluorotelomer acetate (FTOAc), and fluorotelomer methyl acrylate (FTMAc) classes; however, FTOHs dominated concentrations (87–97% total neutral PFAS), with most detections surpassing utilized calibration levels. Even under conservative assumptions, the mass of fluorine leaving in landfill gas (32–76%) was comparable to or greater than the mass leaving in landfill leachate (24–68%). These findings suggest that landfill gas, a less scrutinized byproduct, serves as a major pathway for the mobility of PFAS from landfills.
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