Human Health Risk Assessment of a landfill based on volatile organic compounds emission, immission and soil gas concentration measurements

•VOCs were quantified as emission fluxes, immission and soil–gas levels.•HHRA was performed with these measurements and admissible risk was obtained.•VOCs that contributed more to risk indexes were chlorinated aliphatics hydrocarbons.•The methodology approach can be applied to other landfills with potential risk.

A Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) was required for a closed landfill located in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona, Spain). The HHRA had two objectives, to evaluate the present risk of the identified receptors in the area and to safely develop the future urban planning of the area, therefore 3 scenarios for the current situation and 4 for the future situation were developed.After reviewing the existing data and exploring the needs of information, the assessment in this study was focused on the measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) fluxes from the subsoil (emission from the landfill at 5 points), concentrations of VOCs in the air (immission in 4 urban sites) and concentration of VOCs in soil–gas (measurements at 5 m below ground surface outside the landfill at 8 sites). Around 70 VOCs were analyzed by using multi-sorbent tubes and Thermal Desorption Gas Chromatography (TD–GC–MS). The VOCs that were detected and quantified include alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones, halocarbons, aldehydes, esters, terpenoids, ethers and some nitrogenated and sulfur compounds, furans and carboxylic acids. Specific mercury flux measurements were performed in a hot spot by using carulite tubes, that were also analyzed by using Thermal Decomposition, Amalgamation, and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry.Results showed average values of volatile emission fluxes ranging from non-detected to 331 μg m−2 day−1 (dichlorodifluoromethane). In the case of immission, the concentration of VOCs measured in the air of populated area surrounding the landfill ranged values from non-detected to 42.0 μg m−3 (acetic acid). The soil–gas measurements in piezometers around the landfill showed individual VOC values with a maximum 830 μg m−3 for dichlorodifluoromethane.With the obtained fluxes and concentrations in air and soil–gas, USEPA methodology and modeling was used to evaluate equivalent concentration in the scenarios considered. Toxicity values from IRIS database were used to finally obtain chemical risk indicators. Admissible risk indicators were obtained in all scenarios. The VOCs that contributed more to risk indexes in RH2 were trichloroethylene, trimethylbenzene, chloroform, 1,2-dichloroethane and carbon tetrachloride. The carcinogenic risk in RH7 was linked to the presence of benzene and chloroform. The comparison of the measurements of the present work with other landfills evidence that HHRA in ambient air would be needed in order to perform a correct landfill management.