New Radial Plume Mapping Technology Measures Fugitive Emissions from Landfill

摘要

The reuse of remediated hazardous waste sites and landfills for recreational purposes is being considered more frequently as a viable option. However, one of the major concerns associated with the recreational use of these sites is the potential hazard of landfill gas emissions, which can be explosive, flammable, and toxic. EPA recognizes that it is crucial to accurately measure landfill emissions before any cleanup site is reused for recreational purposes. Therefore, the agency recently demonstrated a new method to characterize fugitive emissions from large area sources (e.g., landfills). The study used optical remote sensing-radial plume mapping (ORS-RPM) techniques to determine the levels of methane and hazardous air pollutants over the entire area of a New Hampshire landfill.