It’s not just garbage piling up in our landfills, it’s a public health crisis trickling into your drinking water and floating through the air you breathe.
Across the U.S., our water systems are laced with a toxic stew of chemicals, including PFAS, antibiotics, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals. In New York, watchdogs report that nearly 368,000 people are at risk from untreated leachate discharged into the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, in areas that double as drinking water sources.
“These pollutants are not fully removed by wastewater plants,” warned Jen Epstein of the Leachate Collective, “so the burden falls on drinking water systems and public health.”
The concern doesn’t end at the water’s edge. A recent Florida-based study found that fluorotelomer alcohols, a particularly resilient class of PFAS, make up as much as 76% of the total PFAS in off-gases, gasses released from chemical reactions in landfill waste. These chemicals drift for miles, raising risks of thyroid, liver, kidney, and reproductive damage for nearby communities.
The threat is far from theoretical. Research from Mount Sinai Hospital shows people with thyroid cancer were 56% more likely to have PFAS in their blood. Other studies link these chemicals to infertility, ovarian cancer, and melanoma. Once in the body, PFAS can linger for over seven years, silently altering DNA and hormonal function.
While regulators consider requiring onsite leachate treatment, off-gas remains largely unregulated. Existing flaring and capture methods may not destroy airborne PFAS, leaving communities exposed through both water and air.
At Diamond Scientific, we recognize the urgent need for accurate monitoring and mitigation. Our advanced gas analyzers and water quality solutions help utilities and industries detect threats like PFAS early—empowering them to act before contamination.
CITATION:
dailymail.com; By CASSIDY MORRISON SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM; Published: 09:24 EDT, 27 June 2024 | Updated: 09:27 EDT, 27 June 2024
Watchdog highlights leachate's threat to Hudson and Mohawk drinking water safety
by Emma QuinnTue, December 17th 2024 at 6:24 PM
https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/watchdog-highlights-leachates-threat-to-hudson-and-mohawk-drinking-water-safety-hudson-mohawk-rivers-leachate-collective
