Landfill gas (LFG) migration from unlined landfills occurs when the gases produced from decomposing waste move out of the landfill site, usually facilitated by the absence of a landfill liner or gas collection system. We explain how this uncontrolled movement, driven by gas pressure and aided by porous soil and underground features, can pose extreme health and safety risks.
Key Takeaways
- Unlined landfills pose significant environmental and health risks through gas migration, with methane concentrations capable of creating explosive conditions in confined spaces.
- Landfill gas can travel substantial distances—up to 1,500 feet laterally—through permeable soil and man-made pathways like utility lines, potentially reaching residential areas.
- Weather conditions significantly influence migration patterns, with falling barometric pressure and frozen soil creating ideal conditions for horizontal gas movement.
- Modern landfill gas management systems from Landfill Gas Safety Solutions can effectively mitigate migration risks through strategic monitoring and collection infrastructure.
- Early detection through professional monitoring is essential, as visible vegetation damage and unusual odours often indicate advanced migration problems that require immediate attention.
Dangerous Gases Escaping: What Happens in Unlined Landfills
Unlined landfills represent one of the most significant legacy issues in waste management. Without proper barriers, these disposal sites allow gases to move freely through surrounding soil and rock formations, creating potential hazards for nearby communities and ecosystems. This lateral movement of gases—primarily methane and carbon dioxide—from the waste mass into the surrounding environment is what we refer to as landfill gas migration.
The consequences of unchecked gas migration extend well beyond simple odour complaints. When these gases accumulate in confined spaces or reach certain concentrations, they create explosion hazards, asphyxiation risks, and contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, numerous incidents occurred where migrating landfill gas caused explosions in structures hundreds of feet from disposal sites, some resulting in fatalities.
Understanding the mechanics and risks of landfill gas migration is essential for waste management professionals tasked with monitoring legacy sites, environmental consultants evaluating property risks, and regulatory officials developing appropriate safety protocols. While modern landfills incorporate sophisticated gas collection systems and impermeable liners, thousands of unlined facilities still require ongoing assessment and mitigation strategies.
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What Is Landfill Gas and Why Should You Care?
Landfill gas is a complex mixture produced when organic materials decompose under anaerobic conditions within waste deposits. The composition varies depending on waste characteristics, age, and environmental conditions, but typically consists of 45-60% methane and 40-60% carbon dioxide, with trace amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide, and other gases. This production begins shortly after waste deposition and can continue for decades—sometimes more than 30 years after closure—creating a persistent management challenge.
Landfill Gas Safety Solutions has documented cases where gas production continued at significant levels for over 50 years at unlined sites, requiring ongoing monitoring and control measures long after operations ceased. The persistence of this gas generation makes migration issues particularly challenging for long-term land use planning around former disposal areas.
Methane and Carbon Dioxide: The Silent Threat
Methane represents the most immediate danger in landfill gas migration scenarios. As a colourless, odourless gas with explosive properties at concentrations between 5-15% in air, methane can accumulate in basements, utility vaults, or other confined spaces without detection. Its low density causes it to rise through soil columns, potentially entering structures through foundation cracks, utility penetrations, or other pathways. The explosion hazard isn’t merely theoretical—historical incidents demonstrate the destructive potential when migrating methane reaches ignition sources.
Carbon dioxide, while not flammable, creates its own set of hazards. Heavier than air, it tends to collect in low-lying areas and depressions. At concentrations above 3%, it can cause headaches and difficulty breathing; at levels exceeding 10%, it can lead to rapid unconsciousness and death through asphyxiation. The combination of these gases creates multiple risk vectors requiring different detection and mitigation approaches.
Trace components in landfill gas contribute to both health concerns and environmental impacts. Hydrogen sulfide, recognisable by its “rotten egg” odour, becomes a health hazard at very low concentrations. VOCs may include carcinogenic compounds and contribute to ground-level ozone formation. These secondary components, while present in smaller quantities, often serve as the first detectable warning signs of migration through their distinctive odours.
Why Older Landfills Can Be Environmental Time Bombs
Landfills constructed before the implementation of modern regulations—particularly those predating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act amendments of the 1980s—typically lack engineered barriers to prevent gas migration. These facilities were often sited based on land availability rather than geological suitability, resulting in locations with permeable soils or fractured bedrock that facilitate gas movement. Their design philosophy focused primarily on waste containment with little consideration for gas management, creating perfect conditions for lateral migration.
Complicating matters further, historical waste composition typically included higher percentages of organic materials than modern waste streams. Without source separation or composting programs, these facilities received large volumes of food waste, yard trimmings, and paper products—all prime materials for methane generation. The decomposition of these materials creates not only gas pressure but also void spaces within the waste mass that allow for gas accumulation and pressure differentials that drive migration. For more insights on managing these challenges, explore landfill gas extraction systems that help control gas migration effectively.
Documentation for many older sites is incomplete or nonexistent, making it difficult to determine waste boundaries, composition, or even basic operational history. Without this fundamental information, predicting gas generation rates or likely migration pathways becomes significantly more challenging. Many communities face situations where development has encroached on former disposal areas without full knowledge of subsurface conditions or potential gas migration risks.
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How Gas Escapes from Unlined Landfills
Landfill gas movement follows fundamental principles of fluid dynamics, always moving from areas of higher pressure to lower pressure through the path of least resistance. Within the waste mass, microbial decomposition creates a positive pressure environment that forces gas outward. Without engineered barriers, this pressure differential becomes the driving force behind migration, pushing gases through surrounding soils and geological formations at rates determined by permeability characteristics.
The direction and extent of migration depend on numerous site-specific factors including soil type, moisture content, depth to groundwater, and surrounding infrastructure. Sandy or gravelly soils facilitate rapid gas movement, while clay-rich soils provide more natural resistance. The interplay between these geological factors creates unique migration patterns for each landfill, requiring site-specific monitoring and management approaches rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
Pressure-Driven Migration Through Soil
The pressure differential created within decomposing waste masses can be substantial, ranging from a few inches of water column to several PSI in heavily compacted waste bodies. This pressure functions like a slow but persistent pump, continuously forcing gases outward through any available pathway. The rate of pressure development typically exceeds the natural venting capacity of unlined landfills, creating conditions where lateral migration becomes inevitable unless intervention measures are implemented.
Soil moisture content plays a crucial role in directing gas movement. Saturated soils block gas passage, forcing migration through drier pathways. During wet seasons, this often means gas is prevented from venting vertically and instead travels horizontally beyond the landfill perimeter. Similarly, frozen ground during winter months creates an impermeable cap that redirects gas laterally, explaining why migration-related incidents historically spike during freeze-thaw cycles and periods of heavy precipitation.
Underground Pathways: Natural and Man-Made
Natural geological features often function as preferential pathways for migrating gases. Fractured bedrock, sand seams, and buried stream channels can transport gases rapidly away from the waste boundary, sometimes emerging hundreds of feet from the landfill perimeter. These natural conduits are particularly problematic because they’re often undocumented and may connect the landfill to areas that otherwise appear safely distant from potential gas sources.
Man-made structures frequently create even more efficient migration routes. Utility corridors, including sewer lines, water mains, and electrical conduits, are typically surrounded by highly permeable backfill materials that provide perfect pathways for gas movement. These corridors can transport landfill gases directly into residential areas, commercial buildings, or other sensitive receptors. In several documented cases, migrating gases have followed utility lines for over 1,000 feet before accumulating in structures at potentially dangerous concentrations.
Abandoned boreholes, monitoring wells with compromised seals, and improperly decommissioned underground structures can create direct conduits from waste masses to the surface. These pathways bypass the natural filtration and oxidation that occurs during migration through soil, allowing gases to emerge with minimal dilution or composition changes.
The Impact of Weather and Seasonal Changes
Barometric pressure fluctuations significantly influence gas migration patterns. During falling barometric conditions, the relative pressure differential between the landfill interior and the atmosphere increases, accelerating outward gas movement. This explains the common observation that odour complaints and detected migration issues often coincide with approaching weather fronts, which typically bring falling barometric pressure.
Seasonal temperature variations create thermal gradients that can either facilitate or inhibit gas movement. In winter, the warmer temperatures within actively decomposing waste create a chimney effect that draws air in at the perimeter and forces gas upward through the centre. Conversely, during summer months, cooler subsurface temperatures compared to ambient air can create conditions where gases preferentially move laterally through the subsurface rather than venting vertically. For more information on how these processes affect landfill operations, you can refer to this landfill gas migration guide.
How Far Can Landfill Gas Travel?
Documentation of migration distances varies widely based on site conditions, but well-established cases exist of landfill gas traveling 1,000 to 1,500 feet laterally through permeable soils and geological pathways. The UK Department of Environment has recorded multiple instances where methane at concentrations above 5% (the lower explosive limit) was detected over 1,000 feet from waste boundaries. When man-made conduits like utility corridors are present, these distances can extend even further.
Vertical migration typically extends 10-15 feet above the waste mass in permeable soils, though greater distances occur when pressure-driven flow encounters impermeable layers that redirect gas laterally before allowing vertical movement. This layering effect explains why gas emissions sometimes appear at surprising distances from waste boundaries, having traveled horizontally before finding vertical pathways to the surface.
5 Major Dangers of Migrating Landfill Gas
The risks associated with landfill gas migration extend beyond simple nuisance concerns to include serious safety hazards, environmental damage, and public health impacts. Understanding these dangers is essential for developing appropriate risk assessment frameworks and implementing effective monitoring and mitigation strategies for unlined facilities.
1. Explosion and Fire Risks
When methane concentrations reach 5-15% in air, they create an explosive mixture that requires only an ignition source to trigger a potentially catastrophic detonation. In confined spaces such as basements, utility vaults, or enclosed structures, these concentrations can develop rapidly from seemingly minor gas intrusions. Ignition sources, including electrical switches, water heaters, or static electricity can provide the activation energy needed for an explosion. The risk extends beyond structures directly adjacent to landfills—documented cases exist of explosions occurring in buildings several hundred feet from waste boundaries due to gas migration through subsurface pathways.
2. Asphyxiation Hazards in Confined Spaces
The displacement of oxygen by landfill gases creates serious asphyxiation risks in enclosed spaces. Carbon dioxide, which typically comprises 40-60% of landfill gas, becomes immediately dangerous to life and health at concentrations above 4%. When combined with methane, which further displaces oxygen, the atmosphere in confined spaces can rapidly become lethal without showing obvious warning signs. Utility workers, construction personnel, and even residents entering affected basements or enclosed areas have suffered fatalities from asphyxiation before recognising the danger, as many landfill gas components are colourless and may be odourless at dangerous concentrations. For more information on mitigation strategies, explore landfill gas extraction systems.
3. Plant Death and Crop Damage
Vegetation damage often serves as the first visible indicator of gas migration. When landfill gases displace oxygen in the root zone, plants exhibit symptoms ranging from stunted growth to complete dieback. The effects typically appear as circular or linear patterns of vegetation stress extending from the landfill boundary, with deeper-rooted species showing impacts first. Agricultural operations near unlined landfills have documented crop yield reductions of 30-70% in affected areas, with economic impacts extending years beyond active gas migration as soil conditions slowly return to normal following mitigation efforts.
4. Groundwater Contamination
While gas migration itself doesn’t directly contaminate groundwater, the movement of landfill gases through the subsurface often coincides with liquid pathways that can transport dissolved contaminants. VOCs present in landfill gas can dissolve into infiltrating precipitation, creating a secondary contamination mechanism. Additionally, the biodegradation of methane in soil produces organic acids that can increase the mobility of metals and other contaminants, potentially extending the impact zone beyond the area of actual gas migration. Long-term monitoring has shown that the zone of groundwater impact often correlates closely with gas migration patterns, creating compounded environmental challenges.
5. Climate Change Contribution
Methane’s global warming potential is approximately 28-36 times that of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, making uncontrolled emissions from unlined landfills significant contributors to climate change. The EPA estimates that landfills remain the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, with unlined facilities contributing disproportionately to this total. A single mid-sized unlined landfill can release methane equivalent to thousands of tons of CO2 annually through migration and surface emissions, highlighting the global environmental significance beyond local safety concerns.
Real-Life Disasters: When Landfill Gas Goes Wrong
The theoretical hazards of landfill gas migration have unfortunately manifested in numerous documented incidents resulting in property damage, injuries, and fatalities. These case studies provide valuable insights into migration mechanisms, contributing factors, and warning signs that preceded catastrophic events.
The 1980s UK Incidents
The United Kingdom experienced a series of landfill gas-related incidents during the 1980s that fundamentally changed regulatory approaches to gas management. The most significant occurred in 1986 at Loscoe, Derbyshire, where migrating methane from an unlined landfill accumulated in the basement of a home approximately 70 meters from the site boundary. The resulting explosion completely destroyed the building and seriously injured three occupants. Investigation revealed that a combination of clay capping at the landfill (intended to reduce leachate generation) and unusual atmospheric conditions created the perfect environment for lateral gas migration.
Another notable UK case occurred in Huyton, Merseyside, where gas migration through fractured sandstone formations led to an explosion in a property over 250 meters from waste deposits. The gas followed natural geological pathways that weren’t identified during initial site assessments, highlighting the challenges in predicting migration routes in complex subsurface environments. These incidents prompted the development of comprehensive guidance documents and regulatory requirements for gas risk assessment that remain influential worldwide.
Modern Cases Despite Better Knowledge
Despite improved understanding of gas migration mechanisms, incidents continue to occur at unlined facilities. In 2017, a commercial building in California experienced a significant explosion after methane from a nearby former landfill accumulated in a rarely-used storage area. The site had been closed for over 25 years, demonstrating the persistence of gas generation in legacy facilities. Investigation revealed that recent construction activities had inadvertently damaged a passive venting system, allowing gas to migrate through newly-created pathways.
In 2019, utility workers in the Midwest experienced a near-miss when gas accumulated in a manhole being serviced near an unlined landfill closed in the 1970s. Fortunately, standard confined space entry procedures included gas monitoring that detected the hazardous atmosphere before workers entered. The incident highlighted how infrastructure maintenance activities can intersect with migration pathways decades after landfill closure, creating occupational hazards for workers with no connection to waste management operations.
How to Detect Escaping Landfill Gas
Early detection remains the most effective defense against landfill gas migration hazards. Comprehensive monitoring programs combine surface and subsurface measurements to identify migration pathways before they create significant risks to surrounding properties.
Warning Signs Around Your Home
Visual indicators often provide the first warning of gas migration issues. Vegetation stress presents as patches of dying plants, typically in linear patterns following subsurface migration routes. This stress occurs because methane and carbon dioxide displace oxygen in the root zone, essentially suffocating plants from below. Circular patches of dead vegetation that expand over time warrant immediate investigation, particularly when they occur on property adjacent to former disposal sites.
Physical changes to the landscape may indicate gas pressure effects. Unusual ground heaving, particularly after rain events or during freezing conditions, can signal gas accumulation beneath impermeable surface layers. Similarly, bubbling in standing water or unusual soil cracking patterns might indicate gas forcing its way to the surface through paths of least resistance. To learn more about how gas is extracted and managed, explore landfill gas extraction systems.
Odors provide important, though sometimes misleading, indicators of gas migration. While methane itself is odorless, companion gases like hydrogen sulfide (with its characteristic “rotten egg” smell) often migrate alongside it. Persistent sulfurous or “garbage-like” odors, particularly those that intensify during falling barometric pressure, should trigger professional assessment rather than being dismissed as temporary nuisances.
Professional Monitoring Equipment
Field-portable flame ionization detectors (FIDs) and photoionization detectors (PIDs) provide rapid screening capabilities for detecting volatile organic compounds associated with landfill gas. These instruments can detect concentrations in the parts-per-million range, allowing for comprehensive surface screening to identify emission hot spots and potential migration pathways. Modern units incorporate GPS tracking to generate spatial distribution maps that reveal migration patterns invisible to visual inspection.
Combustible gas indicators (CGIs) specifically measure methane concentrations, typically providing readings as a percentage of the lower explosive limit (LEL). These instruments are essential for safety assessments in structures, utility vaults, or other confined spaces where explosion hazards might exist. When calibrated properly, CGIs can detect methane at concentrations as low as 500 ppm, well below hazardous levels, providing early warning of developing problems.
Permanent monitoring installations provide continuous data on subsurface gas conditions. Monitoring wells, typically installed around landfill perimeters and along suspected migration pathways, allow for regular sampling of subsurface gas composition, pressure, and flow characteristics. Modern systems incorporate telemetry to provide real-time alerts when gas concentrations or pressures exceed predetermined thresholds, enabling rapid response to changing conditions. For more detailed procedures, check out the landfill gas monitoring procedures.
When to Call the Experts
Any detection of methane above 1.25% by volume (25% of the LEL) in structures or confined spaces warrants immediate professional evaluation. This concentration, while below explosive levels, indicates migration pathways capable of delivering potentially dangerous gas volumes under changing conditions. Similarly, sustained detections of methane in perimeter monitoring points at concentrations exceeding 5% by volume should trigger comprehensive migration assessments, even in the absence of off-site impacts.
Unusual subsurface pressure readings, particularly positive pressures exceeding 0.5 inches of water column in monitoring wells beyond the waste boundary, indicate active gas movement requiring intervention. These pressure differentials drive gas migration and tend to increase during barometric pressure drops, creating potential for rapid changes in gas flow during weather events. For more details on monitoring procedures, you can refer to this comprehensive guide on landfill gas monitoring procedures.
Solving the Migration Problem
Effective management of landfill gas migration requires a combination of containment strategies, active extraction systems, and ongoing monitoring. The approach must be tailored to site-specific conditions including waste characteristics, geological setting, and proximity to sensitive receptors. While complete elimination of gas generation isn’t feasible for existing waste masses, properly designed systems can control migration pathways and reduce risks to acceptable levels.
Gas Collection Systems: How They Work
Active gas collection systems create negative pressure gradients that intercept migrating gas before it reaches sensitive receptors. These systems typically consist of vertical extraction wells installed within and around the waste mass, connected via header piping to blowers that maintain vacuum conditions. By establishing controlled flow paths toward extraction points, these systems effectively reverse the pressure differential that drives migration, pulling gas back toward the landfill rather than allowing outward movement. Properly designed systems create overlapping zones of influence that form a hydraulic barrier to migration, even without physical containment structures.
Barrier Technologies for Existing Sites
Physical barriers provide mechanical interruption of gas migration pathways. Bentonite slurry walls, sheet piling, and geomembrane curtains can be installed along property boundaries or between waste masses and sensitive receptors to block lateral movement. These barriers typically extend from the surface to below the depth of waste placement or to natural geological barriers, creating a continuous seal against gas flow.
Passive venting systems function as preferential pathways that intercept migrating gas and direct it to controlled release points. Gravel trenches with embedded perforated collection pipes, often installed along property boundaries, provide low-resistance channels that capture gas and direct it to vent stacks where it can safely dissipate into the atmosphere. These systems require no mechanical components or energy input, making them reliable long-term solutions for sites with moderate gas generation rates.
Modern Landfill Design: The Containment Approach
Contemporary landfill design incorporates comprehensive gas management from the initial planning stages. Composite liner systems including geomembranes, compacted clay, and geosynthetic clay liners create impermeable barriers on the bottom and sides of waste cells, while engineered final covers with similar components prevent vertical migration after closure. These containment features work in conjunction with designed gas collection infrastructure installed during waste placement, creating controlled conditions that minimize migration potential throughout the facility lifecycle.
What Communities Near Unlined Landfills Should Do
Communities located near unlined landfills should implement proactive monitoring and educational programs to identify and address migration concerns before they create significant hazards. Establishing buffer zones through zoning restrictions can prevent sensitive land uses in areas with migration potential, while building code requirements for gas barriers and passive venting systems provide additional protection for structures in at-risk zones. Regular communication between landfill operators, regulatory agencies, and community representatives ensures that monitoring results are shared transparently and emerging concerns receive prompt attention. Most importantly, comprehensive emergency response plans should be developed for areas with confirmed migration issues, including clear evacuation procedures, responder training for gas-related hazards, and regular testing of detection systems and notification protocols.
Frequently Asked Questions
The complex nature of landfill gas migration generates numerous questions from stakeholders including property owners, developers, and municipal officials. The following responses address common inquiries based on current scientific understanding and regulatory guidance.
How can I tell if landfill gas is affecting my property?
Initial indicators often include unusual vegetation patterns such as circular areas of plant stress or death, particularly affecting deeper-rooted species. Persistent odors resembling rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide) or solvent-like smells (VOCs) that intensify during falling barometric pressure may indicate gas presence. Physical signs can include bubbling in standing water, unusual ground heaving, or persistent soil cracks that reappear after rain events. The most reliable detection method involves professional monitoring using calibrated instruments that can detect methane and carbon dioxide at concentrations well below hazardous levels, allowing for early intervention before conditions become dangerous.
Are modern landfills still dangerous for gas migration?
Modern engineered landfills constructed under current regulations present significantly reduced migration risks compared to unlined facilities. Composite liner systems, active gas collection infrastructure, and comprehensive monitoring requirements effectively control migration pathways when properly implemented and maintained. However, no engineered system provides absolute containment guarantees, particularly over the decades-long operational and post-closure periods typical for landfill facilities.
Even state-of-the-art facilities require ongoing vigilance through regular monitoring, system maintenance, and periodic performance evaluation to ensure that changing conditions don’t compromise containment effectiveness. The greatest risks exist during the early post-closure period when active systems transition to passive management but gas generation rates remain high. Responsible operation includes maintaining contingency plans for addressing migration issues throughout the facility lifecycle.
What should I do if I smell gas near an old landfill?
Persistent unusual odors near former disposal sites warrant prompt professional evaluation rather than dismissal as temporary nuisances. Contact local environmental health authorities or the agency responsible for landfill oversight to report specific observations, including odor characteristics, timing patterns (particularly correlation with weather changes), and any associated physical symptoms experienced by occupants. Avoid creating ignition sources in areas with suspected gas accumulation, ensure adequate ventilation in enclosed spaces, and consider temporary relocation if odors are accompanied by symptoms like headaches, dizziness, or respiratory irritation until professional assessment confirms safe conditions.
How long does an unlined landfill produce dangerous gases?
Gas generation in landfills follows a relatively predictable curve that peaks during the first 5-7 years after waste placement, then gradually declines over subsequent decades. However, measurable methane production often continues for 50+ years after waste placement, with some studies documenting significant generation at sites closed for more than 60 years. The duration depends primarily on waste composition, moisture conditions, and climate factors.
The migration risk doesn’t necessarily diminish proportionally with gas production rates. As organic matter decomposes, settlement creates new void spaces and fractures that can establish migration pathways not present during active operations. Consequently, comprehensive monitoring typically continues for at least 30 years post-closure at regulated facilities, with site-specific risk assessment determining when frequency can be reduced or terminated. For unlined sites predating modern regulations, responsible management often requires perpetual monitoring programs given the unpredictable nature of long-term decomposition processes and pathway development.
Can landfill gas migration affect my property value?
Confirmed gas migration issues can significantly impact property values through both actual risk factors and perception effects. Documented migration may trigger disclosure requirements during property transactions, limiting the potential buyer pool and creating financing challenges as lenders require additional environmental assessments or mitigation measures. Insurance availability and premiums may also be affected, particularly for commercial properties where business interruption risks exist. The economic impact extends beyond sale price to include potential costs for monitoring equipment, mitigation systems, or engineering controls required to ensure safe occupancy.
Property value impacts can extend well beyond the actual migration zone due to market perception and stigma effects. Studies examining “environmental stigma” consistently show value impacts affecting entire neighborhoods or districts where hazardous conditions have been identified, even for properties without direct exposure. Working with qualified environmental professionals to obtain definitive documentation regarding actual risk levels provides the strongest position for maintaining property values in areas near former disposal sites.
Proactive mitigation through installation of passive venting systems, subslab depressurization, or gas-resistant membranes during construction typically represents a small percentage of overall development costs while providing significant risk reduction that preserves long-term value. For existing structures, retrofit options ranging from foundation sealing to active depressurization systems can effectively address migration concerns at costs typically lower than the potential value impact of unaddressed conditions.
- Monitor for vegetation die-off patterns, particularly circular or linear arrangements extending from the landfill boundary
- Install methane detection equipment in basements or enclosed spaces of structures within 1,000 feet of unlined landfills
- Be especially vigilant during periods of falling barometric pressure when gas migration typically accelerates
- Consider professional assessment if persistent odors occur, even if they seem minor or intermittent
- Document all observations including dates, weather conditions, and any physical symptoms to assist investigators
Managing landfill gas migration from unlined facilities requires a combination of technical expertise, regulatory oversight, and community awareness. By understanding the mechanisms driving migration, implementing appropriate monitoring protocols, and developing site-specific mitigation strategies, waste management professionals can effectively control these legacy risks. The evolution of landfill design from unlined disposal areas to engineered containment systems demonstrates the industry’s progress, but thousands of older facilities still require ongoing attention to protect surrounding communities and environments.
For a comprehensive assessment of potential landfill gas migration issues at your facility or property, Landfill Gas Safety Solutions provides specialized monitoring services, migration modeling, and mitigation system design tailored to site-specific conditions and regulatory requirements.
