Release of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances from municipal and construction and demolition waste landfills and wastewater treatment plants in North Carolina

By Jean-Rene Thelusmond, Mojtaba Sardarmehni, Noelle DeStefano, Rebecca Weed, Detlef RU Knappe, and Morton A. Barlaz
ACS ES&T Water
March 6, 2025
DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c01202

The presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in both municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill leachate and in domestic wastewater is well documented. Landfill leachate is commonly treated at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but most WWTPs do not effectively remove PFAS prior to discharge. The objectives of this research were to (1) evaluate the significance of landfill leachate as a source of PFAS to WWTPs and ultimately surface water in North Carolina (NC) and (2) estimate leachate generation and PFAS release from construction and demolition (C&D) waste landfills in NC. Leachate from 15 MSW and 5 C&D waste landfills as well as influents and effluents from 31 WWTPs were sampled. PFAS mass flows from NC MSW landfills, C&D landfills, and WWTP effluents are estimated at 2.3, 5.1, and 320 kg PFAS/year, respectively. Leachate is generally a small contributor to PFAS mass flows to WWTPs. However, for the case of a large landfill (1 standard deviation above the mean) in a region of the U.S. with >51 cm of annual rain, sending leachate to a small WWTP (3800 m³/d), the summed PFAS loading from leachate and domestic wastewater are comparable. As every WWTP influent is unique, scrutiny of PFAS-containing streams other than domestic wastewater (e.g., industrial wastewater, landfill leachate) is warranted.

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