Water Sector News
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Buffalo Sewer Authority moves to remove forever chemicals from landfill leachate through firm's new tech
Sep 22, 2023
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/business/buffalo-sewer-authority-moves-to-remove-forever-chemicals-from-landfill-leachate-through-firms-new-tech/article_da7e6d18-572a-11ee-8d05-fb643612ac5c.html
The largest landfill in New York State for years has been trucking up to 150,000 gallons of leachate per day to Buffalo for treatment at the city's Bird Island wastewater plant, where toxic levels of chemicals such as ammonia and nitrogen are removed before the water gets piped into the Niagara River.
Left unfiltered, though, is a group of chemicals known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, that’s used in many industrial and household products. PFAS can build up in the environment and the human body and has been linked to certain cancers and other health issues. The same properties that make PFAS desirable in coatings for pots and pans and stain blockers on clothes also make the chemicals resistant to traditional water and wastewater treatment methods.