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Emerging contaminants in landfill leachate and their sustainable management

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Abstract

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are compounds that recently have been shown to occur widely in the environment and identified as being a potential environmental or public health risk, but yet adequate data do not exist to determine their risk. This review article focuses on ECs including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, surfactants, plasticizers, fire retardants, pesticides and nanomaterials. Their source, fate and transport in landfill leachate and adjacent environments have been discussed. Furthermore, state-of-the-art control and treatment techniques for ECs in landfill leachate have been presented. Sustainable management efforts for screening and control of ECs have been discussed. Molecular biology techniques to enumerate microbes capable of degrading ECs in landfills and their leachate are introduced. The article also presents future perspectives on the management of ECs in landfill leachate.

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Abbreviations

BFRs:

Brominated flame retardants

BOD:

Biological oxygen demand

BrdU:

Bromodeoxyuridine

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

DDE:

Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene

DDT:

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

DBP:

Di-butyl phthalate

DEHP:

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

DEET:

Diethyl toluamide

DNA:

Deoxy ribo nucleic acid

2,4-D:

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

2,4-DP:

2-(2,4-Dichlorophenoxy) propionic acid

2,4,5-T:

2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid

ECs:

Emerging contaminants

EDCs:

Endocrine disrupting chemicals

EPA:

Environmental protection agency

MBR:

Membrane bioreactors

MSW:

Municipal solid waste

NBBS:

N-Butyl benzenesulfonamide

NMVOCs:

Non-methanogenic volatile organic compounds

NSAIDs:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug

PAE:

Phthalate esters

PAH:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

PF:

Perflouro

PFOA:

Perfluorooctanoic acid

PFOS:

Perfluorooctane sulfonate

PPCP:

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products

SRB:

Sulfate reducing bacteria

WWTP:

Wastewater treatment plant

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Human Health and Environmental Sciences, UT School of Public Health, 1200, Pressler Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Anushuya Ramakrishnan

  2. Department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Lee Blaney

  3. National Sun-yat Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Jimmy Kao

  4. INRS-ETE, University of Quebec, Quebec, Canada

    R. D. Tyagi

  5. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA

    Tian C. Zhang

  6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lenexa, KS, USA

    Rao Y. Surampalli

Authors
  1. Anushuya Ramakrishnan
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  2. Lee Blaney
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  3. Jimmy Kao
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  4. R. D. Tyagi
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  5. Tian C. Zhang
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  6. Rao Y. Surampalli
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Correspondence to Anushuya Ramakrishnan.

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Ramakrishnan, A., Blaney, L., Kao, J. et al. Emerging contaminants in landfill leachate and their sustainable management. Environ Earth Sci 73, 1357–1368 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3489-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-014-3489-x

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