Now that the federal government has previewed new plans to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), sometimes known as “forever chemicals,” landfill operators say they feel stuck between wanting more data and research before enacting future policy and needing clearer metrics to ensure safe PFAS management in the meantime.
That’s just one of several insights about PFAS that came out of an EREF Science Session webinar, which was described in a recent article in Waste Dive. Other insights indicate that operators believe that landfills, which utilize highly engineered liner systems, are capable of capturing PFAS and preventing leaching into groundwater. Additionally, given the variety of products and materials which contain PFAS, discussions are needed to stop PFAS generation at the manufacturing level.