Pilot project to treat PFAS at Vermont landfill malfunctions

It’s a setback in Vermont’s fight against toxic “forever chemicals.”

“The chief of one of the divisions within DEC called it a shakedown trial. Well, it shook down last week,” said Henry Coe of Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity.

Landfill owner Casella is using an experimental technology aimed at filtering out so-called forever chemicals from the landfill leachate. The process, one of the first in the country, is called foam fractionation. A video from the manufacturer shared with us by Casella describes it as, “Millions of rising air bubbles that attract the PFAS compounds and remove them from contaminated water that is pumped through a network of highly specialized fractionation tanks.” The PFAS byproduct is then injected into concrete blocks and placed back in the landfill, safely stored for the long term.

On Feb. 24, part of the system failed and 8,500 gallons of leachate leaked from the treatment unit. Officials with Casella say all of the leachates were contained on-site, and that they alongside contractors worked to clean up the mess. They stress that no effluent made it into the nearby Black River.

“These systems are put in place to protect the environment and give people that sense of confidence and understand that it is not escaping into the environment,” said Jeff Weld of Casella.

PFAS are found in numerous consumer goods from clothing to furniture, carpets, food packaging, and more.

How does Vermont handle its landfill leachate?

The collected leachate is transported to wastewater treatment facilities for processing.

This treatment aims to remove contaminants and pollutants before releasing the treated water into the environment.

Vermont PFAS Roadmap 2023

- Reduce or Eliminate PFAS in Commercial Products and Industrial Uses

- Identify Sources of PFAS Exposure in Vermont

- Protect Vermonters from Existing Exposures to PFAS

- Encourage EPA to Provide National Leadership on the Management of PFAS

Conclusion

The bubbling technology with microbubbles has been effective versus the longer PFAS molecules called C8 and less effective against C6. The technology is not new it's used for other separations in wastewater treatment. The problem is that this doesn't do more than assemble between 50 to 90% of the molecules, then you have to destroy the PFAS or encapsulate it as if were nuclear waste since the molecules remain for so long.

Double liners or single doesn't matter since the warranty on a liner is approximately 20 years. Several large-scale tests have shown that most landfills leak, both in the neighboring Maine and Michigan has come to the same conclusion.

An industrial solution

Combining filtration through membranes and then thermal treatment is currently considered a more secure and established method for PFAS removal compared to microbubble technology. Both filtration and The Oaktre's technologies are existing industrial technologies.

Final words

We assume that Vermont leans on EPA more than other states because the State is smaller and has fewer resources. We hope that they join the other surrounding states who seem to have put a little more resources into their roadmaps.

If anyone in Vermont reads this, you are more than welcome to contact The Oaktree, we are more than happy to support you with your journey.