Investigating landfill leachate as a source of trace organic pollutants
Abstract
Landfill leachate samples (n=11) were collected from five USA municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills and analyzed for ten trace organic pollutants that are commonly detected in surface and municipal wastewater effluents (viz., carbamazepine, DEET, fluoxetine, gemfibrozil, PFOA, PFOS, primidone, sucralose, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim). Carbamazepine, DEET, PFOA and primidone were detected in all leachate samples analyzed and gemfibrozil was detected in samples from four of the five-landfill sites. The contaminants found in the highest concentrations were DEET (6900-143000 ng L(-1)) and sucralose (<10-621000 ng L(-1)). Several compounds were not detected (fluoxetine) or detected infrequently (sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and PFOS). Using the average mass of DEET in leachate amongst the five landfills and scaling the mass release from the five test landfills to the USA population of landfills, an order of magnitude estimate is that over 10000 kg DEET yr(-1) may be released in leachate. Some pharmaceuticals have similar annual mean discharges to one another, with the estimated annual discharge of carbamazepine, gemfibrozil, primidone equating to 53, 151 and 128 kg year(-1). To the authors knowledge, this is the first time that primidone has been included in a landfill leachate study. While the estimates developed in this study are order of magnitude, the values do suggest the need for further research to better quantify the amount of chemicals sent to wastewater treatment facilities with landfill leachate, potential impacts on treatment processes and the significance of landfill leachate as a source of surface water contamination.
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PFAS concentrations in landfill leachate range from low ng/L to 100s of ng/L.
“PFAS concentrations in landfill leachate range from low ng/L to 100s of ng/L (Eggen et al., 2010;Huset et al., 2011;Clarke et al., 2015).”
From Septic systems as sources of organic wastewater compounds in domestic drinking water wells in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer (2016) · cites this paper as Clarke et al., 2015
Artificial sweeteners are also common in landfill leachate, with concentrations up to 85 μg/L acesulfame and 620 μg/L sucralose.
“While acesulfame and sucralose have been considered specific markers of wastewater in aquatic systems (Buerge et al., 2009), artificial sweeteners are also common in landfill leachate, with concentrations up to 85 μg/L acesulfame (Roy et al., 2014) and 620 μg/L sucralose (Clarke et al., 2015).”
From Septic systems as sources of organic wastewater compounds in domestic drinking water wells in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer (2016) · cites this paper as Clarke et al., 2015
In general, perfluorocarboxylic acids (e.g., PFOA) are more abundant than perfluorosulfonic acids (e.g., PFOS) and shorter-chain PFASs are more abundant than longer-chain in landfill leachates, although individual landfills have different relative abundances.
“These studies show that in general, perfluorocarboxylic acids (e.g., PFOA) are more abundant than perfluorosulfonic acids (e.g., PFOS) and shorter-chain PFASs are more abundant than longer-chain, although individual landfills have different relative abundances.”
From Septic systems as sources of organic wastewater compounds in domestic drinking water wells in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer (2016) · cites this paper as Clarke et al., 2015
Pharmaceuticals, personal care product ingredients, OPFRs, and PFASs have all been found in landfill leachates, with concentrations often varying by several orders of magnitude across locations.
“Pharmaceuticals, personal care product ingredients, OPFRs, and PFASs have all been found in landfill leachates, with concentrations often varying by several orders of magnitude across locations (Clarke et al., 2015).”
From Septic systems as sources of organic wastewater compounds in domestic drinking water wells in a shallow sand and gravel aquifer (2016) · cites this paper as Clarke et al., 2015
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- Authors
- Clarke, B. O., Anumol, T., Barlaz, M., & Snyder, S. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- North Carolina State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Snyder, Shane A.
- Venue
- Chemosphere
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-05
- Volume
- 127
- Pages
- 269-275
- ISSN
- 0045-6535 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2068196567
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 9.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Chemosphere (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Landfill Environmental Impact Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Studies
- Keywords
- landfill leachate, trace organic contaminants, municipal solid waste landfill, pharmaceutical pollutants, carbamazepine, DEET, primidone, gemfibrozil, perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOS, sucralose, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, fluoxetine, surface water contamination
- MeSH terms
- Environmental Monitoring, Organic Chemicals, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Hazardous Substances, Wastewater, Solid Waste, Waste Disposal Facilities
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