TY - JOUR
T1 - Landfill reactions to society actions
T2 - The case of local and global air pollutants of Cerro Patacón in Panama
AU - Torrente-Velásquez, Jorge M.
AU - Giampietro, Mario
AU - Ripa, Maddalena
AU - Chifari, Rosaria
N1 - Funding Information:
Author Jorge M. Torrente V. acknowledges financial support from the Technological University of Panama . The Institute for Environmental Sciences and Technology (ICTA) has received funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the “María de Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (MDM-2015-0552). The authors are deeply grateful to Gestión de Residuos (GDR) ( www.gestionderesiduos.com.pa ) and AAUD ( www.aaud.gob.pa ) for providing valuable up-to-date information on available studies, and to Sandra Bukkens and Yelena Linares for their contribution on English grammar and graphical abstract design, respectively. The authors declare no competing financial interests. This work reflects the authors' view only.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - This paper studies landfill emissions and the related environmental and health risks in Panama City, with the aim to sensitize the population about the harmful effects of irresponsible resource consumption and non-deliberate solid waste generation that it is disposed of in an uncontrolled manner in landfills. Empirical data on Cerro Patacón, Panama City's landfill was obtained to describe the status of municipal waste disposal. Ten known methane generation models were used to estimate the yearly emission rate of methane from the landfill for a 100-year period starting from its inception in 1986. From the models used, the GasSIM model was chosen to estimate emission rates of six long-term hazardous air pollutants. The AERMOD source dispersion model was used to simulate their atmospheric downwind dispersion by levels of concentration over nearby affected communities; results were mapped in Google Earth. The relative contributions by population of the 32 towns making up Panama City to the forecasted waste generation in 2022 and related hazardous air pollutants emission rates from the landfill were assessed. It was found that Cerro Patacón will generate 45% of the countrywide methane generation by 2022; an average of 47 Gg. The solid waste generated by the 1.5 million inhabitants of Panama City impacts the health of ~73,600 inhabitants in nearby communities through the dispersion of hazardous atmospheric pollutants derived from the landfill. The highest emission rates were from hydrogen sulfide and dichloromethane, which can be largely attributed to the waste generated by the communities of Juan Diaz and Tocúmen. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide and benzene was over the reference concentration (uncertainty factor spanning three orders of magnitude) for all communities and years simulated. The concentration of vinyl chloride was over the RfC for all communities and years simulated, except in 2018 for 12 communities.
AB - This paper studies landfill emissions and the related environmental and health risks in Panama City, with the aim to sensitize the population about the harmful effects of irresponsible resource consumption and non-deliberate solid waste generation that it is disposed of in an uncontrolled manner in landfills. Empirical data on Cerro Patacón, Panama City's landfill was obtained to describe the status of municipal waste disposal. Ten known methane generation models were used to estimate the yearly emission rate of methane from the landfill for a 100-year period starting from its inception in 1986. From the models used, the GasSIM model was chosen to estimate emission rates of six long-term hazardous air pollutants. The AERMOD source dispersion model was used to simulate their atmospheric downwind dispersion by levels of concentration over nearby affected communities; results were mapped in Google Earth. The relative contributions by population of the 32 towns making up Panama City to the forecasted waste generation in 2022 and related hazardous air pollutants emission rates from the landfill were assessed. It was found that Cerro Patacón will generate 45% of the countrywide methane generation by 2022; an average of 47 Gg. The solid waste generated by the 1.5 million inhabitants of Panama City impacts the health of ~73,600 inhabitants in nearby communities through the dispersion of hazardous atmospheric pollutants derived from the landfill. The highest emission rates were from hydrogen sulfide and dichloromethane, which can be largely attributed to the waste generated by the communities of Juan Diaz and Tocúmen. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide and benzene was over the reference concentration (uncertainty factor spanning three orders of magnitude) for all communities and years simulated. The concentration of vinyl chloride was over the RfC for all communities and years simulated, except in 2018 for 12 communities.
KW - Air pollution
KW - Environmental pressure
KW - Landfill emissions
KW - Panama City
KW - Uncontrolled municipal waste disposal
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85076240748&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135988
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135988
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 31841844
AN - SCOPUS:85076240748
VL - 706
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
M1 - 135988
ER -
