Chemical durability of reinforced and nonreinforced polymeric geomembranes in PFAS and chlorinated water

土工膜（薄塑料片）被用作废物容纳设施中屏障系统的一部分，以保护周围环境免受污染物的迁移。在加拿大，超过95%的垃圾被处理在城市固体废物（MSW）填埋场，这是要求使用土工膜作为其衬垫系统的一部分建造的最大应用之一。城市固体废物填埋场的设计概念和监管要求是在2005年之前制定的，以管理上个世纪关注的污染物。当时，全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）不被认为是值得关注的污染物。PFAS可以在许多消费品，工业活动和污水污泥中找到，因此它们不可避免地最终进入我们的垃圾填埋场。最近，人们努力量化垃圾填埋场所含液体中PFAS的类型和水平，因为如果它们被释放到我们的环境中，它们对人类健康具有重大风险。然而，内衬系统遏制这些新出现的污染物的有效性仍然未知。该项目旨在了解聚合物土工膜将如何与PFAS污染物相互作用，通过使用加速老化测试检查其长期性能。它还试图设计一种新的测试方法，以快速评估土工膜对PFAS环境的抵抗力，而无需进行长期浸泡研究。拟议的工作旨在减少与当前不确定性相关的风险，这些不确定性与包含PFAS的土工膜的长期性能有关，以提供更有效和可靠的环境保护。女王大学拥有在实验室模拟现场暴露条件所需的独特专业知识和设备。与领先的土工膜制造商的合作将确保实验条件将模拟现场条件，并将研究结果应用于该行业目前面临的现实挑战。这项研究预计将有利于加拿大的环境和公共卫生，使我们的垃圾填埋场更有弹性的PFAS。本项目将培训5名HQP。

Geomembranes (thin plastic sheets) are used as part of the barrier systems in waste containment facilities to protect the surrounding environment from the migration of contaminants. In Canada, over 95% of waste generated is disposed of in municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills which are among the largest applications that are required to be constructed using geomembranes as part of their liner systems. The design concepts and regulatory requirements for MSW landfills were developed prior to 2005 to manage the contaminants of concern in the last century. At the time, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were not considered contaminants of concern. PFASs can be found in many consumer goods, industrial activities, and sewage sludge and hence they inevitably end up in our landfills. Recently, efforts have been made to quantify the types and levels of PFAS in the fluids to be contained by landfill given their significant risks to human health if they are released into our environment. However, the effectiveness of liner systems to contain these contaminants of emerging concerns is still unknown. This project seeks to understand how polymeric geomembranes will interact with PFAS contaminants by examining their long-term performance using accelerated ageing tests. It also seeks to devise a new test method to rapidly undertake the assessment of the geomembrane's resistance to PFAS environments without conducting long-term immersion studies. The proposed work aims to reduce the risks associated with the current uncertainty regarding the long-term performance of geomembranes in containing PFAS to provide more effective and reliable environmental protection. Queen's University has the unique expertise and equipment necessary for simulating the field exposure conditions in the laboratory. Collaboration with a leading geomembrane manufacturer will ensure the experimental conditions will simulate field conditions and that the research findings are applied to real-life challenges that are currently facing the industry. This research is expected to benefit Canada's environment and public health by making our landfills more resilient to PFAS. This Project will involve the training of five HQP.