Landfill leachate contributes per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and pharmaceuticals to municipal wastewater
Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology
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Abstract
Widespread disposal of landfill leachate to municipal sewer infrastructure in the United States calls for an improved understanding of the relative organic-chemical contributions to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) waste stream and associated surface-water discharge to receptors in the environment. Landfill leachate, WWTP influent, and WWTP effluent samples were collected from three landfill-WWTP systems and compared with analogous influent and effluent samples from two WWTPs that did not receive leachate. Samples were analyzed for 73 per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 109 pharmaceuticals, and 21 hormones and related compounds. PFAS were detected more frequently in leachate (92%) than in influent (55%). Total PFAS concentrations in leachate (93,100 ng/L) were more than ten times higher than in influent (6,950 ng/L), and effluent samples (3,730 ng/L). Concentrations of bisphenol A; the nonprescription pharmaceuticals cotinine, lidocaine, nicotine; and the prescription pharmaceuticals amphetamine, carisoprodol, pentoxifylline, and thiabendazole were an order of magnitude higher in landfill leachate than WWTP influent. Leachate load contributions for PFAS (0.78 to 31 g/d), bisphenol A (0.97 to 8.3 g/d), and nonprescription (2.0 to 3.1 g/d) and prescription (0.48 to 2.5 g/d) pharmaceuticals to WWTP influent were generally low (<10 g/d) for most compounds because of high influent-to-leachate volumetric ratios (0.983). No clear differences in concentrations were apparent between effluents from WWTPs receiving landfill leachate and those that did not receive landfill leachate.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Landfill leachate contributes per-/poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and pharmaceuticals to municipal wastewater |
| Series title | Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology |
| DOI | 10.1039/D0EW00045K |
| Volume | 6 |
| Year Published | 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Contributing office(s) | National Water Quality Laboratory, Oklahoma Water Science Center |
| Description | 12 p. |
| First page | 1300 |
| Last page | 1311 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |