Perfluoroalkyl acids in municipal landfill leachates from China: Occurrence, fate during leachate treatment and potential impact on groundwater

Raw and treated landfill leachate samples were collected from 5 municipal landfill sites in China to measure the concentrations and contamination profile of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in leachate during different steps of treatment. The total concentration of PFAAs (Sigma PFAAs) ranged from 7280 to 292,000 ng L-1 in raw leachate and from 98.4 to 282,000 ng L-1 in treated leachate. The dominant compounds measured were PFOA (mean contribution 28.8% and 36.8% in raw and treated leachate, respectively) and PFBS (26.1% and 40.8% in raw and treated leachate, respectively). A calculation of mass flows during the leachate treatment processes showed that the fate of individual PFAAs was substance and treatment-specific. The Chinese national leakage of Sigma PFAAs to groundwater from landfill leachate was estimated to be 3110 kg year(-1), which is a significant environmental release that is potentially threatening the sustainable use of groundwater as a drinking water source. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.