Aquatic life exposure to per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater plumes from historic landfills reaching nearby surface waters

James W. Roy, Victoria R. Propp, Tammy Hua, James E. Smith, Amila O. de Silva, Christine Spencer, Susan J. Brown

Dans les comptes rendus d’articles de la conférence: GeoNiagara 2021: 74th Canadian Geotechnical Conference; 14th joint with IAH-CNC

ABSTRACT: Past work has revealed that both modern and historic landfills can have PFAS concentrations in leachate in the ug/L range, even for those closed 60 years ago. Old landfills may pose a greater risk of groundwater contamination because they typically lack engineered liners and leachate collection systems, although modern landfills may leak as well. Landfill groundwater plumes that reach nearby surface waters may then pose a threat to aquatic life through PFAS exposure. Currently there is little information available on PFAS exposure to the various compartments of the aquatic ecosystem, including its spatial and temporal variability, under such circumstances. Here we report on full-year field investigations performed at two historic landfill sites with leachate-impacted groundwater (containing PFAS of course) discharging to a nearby surface water body; one being a stream, the other a pond (with an outlet stream). Monitoring of PFAS and leachate tracers (artificial sweeteners, ammonium, chloride, and electrical conductivity) was performed for shallow discharging groundwater and the receiving surface waters, with stream PFAS mass discharges then calculated using streamflow measurements. PFAS exposure to organisms dwelling in the sediments and overlying waters will be demonstrated and compared. Mass loadings will be compared to other potential sources described in the literature. There will also be discussions of the hydrologic controls on the spatial and temporal patterns observed.

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