UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROLLING LANDFILL FIRES

Characterizing a Fire

Air Emissions:

The emissions produced by burning garbage have been well characterized by the waste-to-energy sector.  Contaminants that are released include

• Particulates
• Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)
• Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
• Sulfur Oxides (SOx)
• Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• Hydrogen Cyanide
• Hydrogen Sulphide (H₂S)
• Mercury (Hg)
• Lead (Pb)
• Poly-cyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons PAH’s
• PCB’s
• Dioxins and Furans

To control these emissions, modern waste to energy plants have been required to install scrubber systems including catalytic reactors, bag-houses and electro-static precipitators, as well as continuous emission monitoring systems.  As a result, emissions from incinerators have declined dramatically over the past five years.

Landfill fires produce the same contaminants produced in incinerators.  However, because landfill fires typically occur in an oxygen-deprived environment and at lower burn temperatures, the concentrations of problem pollutants are much higher.  In particular, it has been established by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association that combustion of plastics can produce dangerous levels of dioxins and furans.  Without environmental controls these contaminants are released directly to the atmosphere.  Due to the emergency response approach to extinguishment of landfill fires, it has been our experience that testing of air quality is seldom carried out on landfill fire projects.  Smoke emissions from landfills should be monitored during a fire, particularly if it is determined that the fire cannot be practically extinguished and is allowed to burn itself out over a long period of time.   Photo 1 illustrates a smoke plume generated by  a small MSW landfill fire at a remote location in northern B.C.

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