About the Study

About the FUEL project?

Complementary to the WAFER project, FUEL aims to improve the knowledge-base regarding POP-BFRs and PFOS in the waste and recycling streams in Ireland. With ever more stringent pollution and waste management legislation being issued by the United Nations and the European Union, such research is vital in order to create the mechanisms for compliance with such legislation and, ultimately, for improving the health and well-being of the Irish population and the environment at large.

 The first stage of the project will involve the sampling of liquid leachates from approximately 70 landfills around Ireland. The most contaminated landfills from this initial group will undergo further testing of the soil, air and groundwater surrounding the site.

Secondly, a lab-based simulation of a landfill system containing items treated with POPs will be carried out in an attempt to determine the rates at which the various pollutants leach out from landfills. The factors affecting these leaching rates will also be assessed through this series of experiments in conjunction with a review of the existing literature regarding landfill leachate.

Finally, a desktop evaluation of the long-term potential for emissions to the environment of BFRs and PFOS from landfilled waste along with an assessment of the potential implications of such emissions in the future will conclude the project.