Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and the contribution of unknown precursors and short-chain (C2–C3) perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids at solid waste disposal facilities
Abstract
The emission of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from municipal solid wastes (MSW) disposal raises concerns for their potential of long-term release and risks. In this study, the occurrence of PFASs was investigated in ambient air and leachate from seven MSW disposal facilities including three landfills, two incineration plants, and two MSW transfer stations in Tianjin, China. Mass loads of PFASs (≥C4) released to the atmosphere were estimated at 0.007-0.97 kg/y/site, which were much lower than those to leachate (0.04-1.3 kg/y/site), while emission to the atmosphere at landfills was more considerable. With total oxidizable precursor (TOP) assay, unknown C4-C12 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs)-precursors were found contributing 10-97 mol% in leachate and accounting for additional 15%-43% mass loads. Using IC-Ba/Ag/H cartridges, trifluoroacetic acid (C2) and perfluoropropionic acid (C3) were recovered in leachate for TOP assay (62%-78%) and determined at dominant levels of 19-81 μg/L, which accounted for mass loads of 0.08-2.6 kg/y/site. Unknown C2-C3 PFAA-precursors contributed 12-93 mol% with mass loads of 0.10-3.0 kg/y/site. Overall, unknown C2-C12 PFAA-precursors remained contributing 0.35-68 mol% in biochemically treated leachate. This study emphasizes that the profiles of unknown PFAA-precursors released during MSW disposal are to be identified, which is essential for their environmental risk assessment.
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Surface waters could be exposed to NEPs and POPs via several sources including WWTPs, landfills, atmospheric deposition, and industrial or agricultural activities.
“Surface waters typically run along rural or urban areas and could be exposed to NEPs and POPs (also referred to as pollutants across the text) via several sources. These include WWTPs (Biswas et al., 2022; Kur wadkar et al., 2022), landfills (Wang et al., 2020; Zhang et al., 2023), atmospheric deposition (Pfotenhauer et al., 2022), and industrial or agricultural activities (Chirikona et”
From Occurrence of emerging and persistent organic pollutants in the rivers Cam, Ouse and Thames, UK (2025) · cites this paper as Wang et al., 2020
A study of leachates and effluents from municipal waste disposal sites and landfills near Tianjin showed the presence of many PFAS as well as TFA at all sampling sites.
“A study of leachates and effluents from municipal waste disposal sites and landfills in the environs of Tianjin (China), the location of several fluorochemical manufacturing facilities, showed the presence of many PFAS as well as TFA at all sampling sites [233].”
From Changes in tropospheric air quality related to the protection of stratospheric ozone in a changing climate (2023) · cites this paper as [233]
Greatest amounts of TFA (60,000 and 50,000 ng a.e. L−1) were measured in leachates from two incineration plants, although leachates from one landfill and one transfer-site had similarly high concentrations approaching 40,000 ng a.e. L−1.
“Greatest amounts of TFA (60,000 and 50,000 ng a.e. L−1) were measured in leachates from two incineration plants, although leachates from one landfill and one transfer-site had similarly high concentrations approaching 40,000 ng a.e. L−1.”
From Changes in tropospheric air quality related to the protection of stratospheric ozone in a changing climate (2023) · cites this paper as [233]
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- Authors
- Wang, B., Yao, Y., Chen, H., Chang, S., Tian, Y., & Sun, H.
- Affiliations
- Nankai University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Yao, Yiming
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-02
- Volume
- 705
- Pages
- 135832
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2990792227
- Cited by
- 127
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 5 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 3.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (41573097, 41603101, 41807356)
- Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (T2017002)
- Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City (18JCQNJC09200)
- Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Landfill Environmental Impact Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Keywords
- per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS emissions, municipal solid waste disposal, landfill leachate, incineration, transfer stations, total oxidizable precursor assay, trifluoroacetic acid, atmospheric emissions, environmental risk assessment
- MeSH terms
- Carboxylic Acids, China, Environmental Monitoring, Fluorocarbons, Refuse Disposal, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Solid Waste, Waste Disposal Facilities
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