Effects of landfills?

Question

what are the effects of landfills?

Answer 1

Living near solid waste landfills where gas is escaping have a four-fold increased chance of bladder cancer or leukemia.the occurrence of seven kinds of cancer among men and women living near 38 landfills where naturally-occurring landfill gas is thought to be escaping into the surrounding air. Of the 14 kinds of cancer studied (7 each in men and women), 10 (or 71%) were found to be elevated but only two (bladder and leukemia in women) achieved statistical significance at the 5% level. The seven cancers studied were leukemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, liver, lung, kidney, bladder, and brain cancer. In women living near landfills, the incidence of all seven kinds of cancer was elevated. In men, the study found elevated (though not statistically significant) incidence of lung cancer, bladder cancer, and leukemia.
Landfill gas consists of naturally-occurring methane and carbon dioxide, which form inside the landfill as the waste decomposes. As the gases form, pressure builds up inside a landfill, forcing the gases to move. Some of the gases escape through the surrounding soil or simply move upward into the atmosphere, where they drift away.
Typically, landfill gases that escape from a landfill will carry along toxic chemicals such as paint thinner, solvents, pesticides and other hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs), many of them chlorinated.

Living near a landfill is hazardous to your health --and it doesn't matter whether the landfill holds solid waste or hazardous waste. Hazardous waste landfills hold unwanted toxic residues from manufacturing processes. On the other hand, municipal solid waste landfills hold discarded products, many of which were manufactured from toxic materials. The wastes go out the back door of the factory while the products go out the front door, but after they have been buried in the ground both wastes and products create very similar hazards for the environment, wildlife, and humans. The leachate (liquid) produced inside the two kinds of landfills is chemically identical.

Answer 2

All that the first answerer stated is true with a few exceptions,

First, the burning of garbage has nothing to do with a landfill, incinerators are completely different from an actual landfill, and incinerators are carefully monitored, not everything is burned and several steps are taken to prevent air pollution.

Second, there is very little uncontrolled runoff from a landfill, a landfill is a dug out pit that is then filled in with garbage, it is sealed by inpermeable clay and have leachate control and collection pipes so that any runoff is collected in these pipes and disposed of properly.

other than that the rest it true, the main problems with landfills are the land that they occupy (however, it is eventually available for use again) and the aesthics

Answer 3

well, i'm no scientist, but I also haven't been living in a cave, so I'll say:
- pollute the aesthetic quality of the environment (all those gulls and such)
- pollute the air if there is burning, esp. toxic chemicals given off by plastics and other burning manmade debris (eg., tires)

- run off pollutes our waterways

-decreases the available landmass (for people use: housing, recreation, farming)

- eats in on the natural ecosystem (cuts in on the habitats for birds and animals indigenous to the area)

- encourages dependence by animals like bears upon the dump as a food source

- smells bad

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

anaerobic digestion by bacteria=methane. kinda like with cowzzz. cept this way it can be harnessed for good rather than eville if the landfill is smert. if not methane is bad for the atmosfear