A Study of Tritium in Municipal Solid Waste Leachate and Gas

Abstract

It has become increasingly clear in the last few years that the vast majority of municipal solid waste landfills produce leachate that contains elevated levels of tritium. The authors recently conducted a study of landfills in New York and New Jersey and found that the mean concentration of tritium in ten municipal solid waste landfills was 33,800 pCi/L with a peak value of 192,000 pCi/L. A 2003 study in California reported a mean tritium concentration of 99,000 pCi/L with a peak value of 304,000 pCi/L. Studies in Pennsylvania and the UK produced similar results. The USEPA MCL for tritium is 20,000 pCi/L. Tritium is also manifesting itself in landfill gas and landfill gas condensate. Landfill gas condensate samples from landfills in the UK and California were found to have tritium concentrations as high as 54,400 and 513,000 pCi/L, respectively. The tritium found in MSW leachate is believed to derive principally from gaseous tritium lighting devices used in some emergency exit signs, compasses, watches, and even novelty items, such as "glow stick" key chains.This study reports the findings of recent surveys of leachate from a number of municipal solid waste landfills, both open and closed, from throughout the United States and Europe. The study evaluates the human health and ecological risks posed by elevated tritium levels in municipal solid waste leachate and landfill gas and the implications to their safe management. We also assess the potential risks posed to solid waste management facility workers exposed to tritiumcontaining waste materials in transfer stations and other solid waste management facilities. KEYWORDSTritium, municipal solid waste leachate and gas, radioactivity

Application of boron and tritium isotopes for tracing landfill contamination in groundwater

“…In Italy its level in rainwater ranges between 3 and 13 TU. Some studies reported 3 H analytical data for municipal landfill leachate (Fuganti et al, 2003;Tazioli et al, 2004;Mutch & Mahony, 2008;Hicks et al, 2000) that indicate values higher than the natural levels of groundwater. Solid waste materials such as sealed glass tubes filled with tritium gas, watches, key chains, and luminescent paint contain high levels of tritium; therefore, it can be found in municipal solid waste.…”

“…This attribute and the relatively low levels at which it can be reliably measured (IAEA, 2004) make tritium one of the most widely used tracers in groundwater studies of contaminated and natural sites (Goutal et al, 2008). High levels of tritium in the leachate occur frequently in municipal landfills throughout the world (Fritz et al, 1994;Robinson & Gronow, 1996;Hicks et al, 2000;Fuganti et al, 2003;Tazioli et al, 2004;Mutch & Mahony, 2008;Hughes et al, 2011;Raco et al, 2013). These observations indicate that there are opportunities to use tritium as a tracer of leachate migration in the surrounding environment.…”

Assessment of Tritium Activity in Groundwater at the Nuclear Objects Sites in Lithuania

“…They have been decreasing since that that time. Tritium levels in Ottawa precipitation peaked at approximately 600 Bq/L in 1963 [13].…”