The EA’s PFAS Risk Screening Project will undertake assessments which may inform future regulatory measures, and it has appointed professional services firm GHD to help with the associated research.
As part of Phase 4 of the project, GHD will work with the EA to help assess and characterise the risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other hazardous substances in UK landfill emissions (leachate and gases). The objective of the work is to improve overall understanding of the scale and extent of such substances from landfill emissions and their potential migration pathways and impact on the terrestrial and marine environments.
Through monitoring at select landfills and wastewater treatment plants across England, GHD will test various media for the presence and magnitude of PFAS and POPs contaminants, and then interpret the data for emissions characterisation and look at the effectiveness of leachate treatment plants and associated wastewater treatment works in contaminant removal. The information gathered will be used by the EA to develop regulatory tools to ensure guidance for environmental monitoring at landfill sites is fit for purpose.
GHD wil work with its partners Enitial, a specialist monitoring firm with experience at landfill and water treatment sites.
