Landfills are supposed to be the end of the line. But chemicals aren't staying buried. Some are seeping, leaking, and even wafting into the air, threatening ecosystems and public health alike.
As landfills grow with rising global populations, so too does the byproduct they produce: leachate — a noxious brew of heavy metals, organic compounds, and a new class of contaminants making headlines: PFAS, the “forever chemicals.” Found in everything from nonstick cookware to raincoats, PFAS are turning up in leachate and landfill gas in alarming concentrations. In fact, researchers have discovered PFAS levels in landfill gases on par with or higher than in liquid leachate, posing challenges for gas collection systems that aren’t designed to capture or destroy these persistent pollutants.
A recent study by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center revealed that landfill leachate contains PFAS levels in the parts-per-billion, compared to parts-per-trillion in regular wastewater — a staggering difference that highlights the outsized role landfills play in PFAS pollution. Worse yet, even landfills with advanced liner systems may have the potential to leak over time due to liner degradation, punctures, and ground settling, allowing contaminants to migrate into underground aquifers, the source of drinking water for millions worldwide.
While some wastewater treatment plants do remove PFAS from liquid effluent, the chemicals often concentrate in biosolids which are then spread on farmland as fertilizer, further propagating the cycle of contamination. States like Maine have already banned this practice, and EPA warnings are now sounding nationwide alarms.
The bottom line? Landfills aren’t just storage sites, they’re dynamic, and it's time we start learning more about them.
At Diamond Scientific, we’re committed to advancing detection and treatment technologies that can monitor and mitigate these evolving risks. Whether it’s gas analysis for fugitive emissions or leachate management solutions, we help facilities stay ahead of environmental threats — because what escapes a landfill doesn’t just disappear.
CITATION
Science News; Landfills belch toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into the air; By Nikk Ogasa July 11, 2024 at 9:00 a
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/landfills-toxic-forever-chemicals-pfas
News Bureau; March 20, 2025 7:40 am; by Diana Yates
https://news.illinois.edu/how-do-we-address-the-problem-of-pfas-in-sewage-sludge/
Nature; 19 March 2025; Determination of leachate leakage around a valley type landfill and its pollution and risk on groundwater; Yulong Lu, Qing Xie, Chuanghua Cao, Jianzhong Huang, Jialei Wang, Bozhi Ren & Yang Liu
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94518-9
