Health risks from unlined landfills near Alaskan federally recognized Tribes: Determining the fate and transport of landfill contaminants through a changing environment
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Solid waste practices employed by rural Alaskan Tribal governments may be contributing to human and environmental health impacts, which may be exacerbated with the loss of permafrost and increased erosion. In some communities, human waste, household hazardous waste, and electronic waste are co-mingled with typical solid waste in Class III landfills. The landfill heat and loss of permafrost may be causing the transport of contaminants into land and water resources. Determining a conceptual site model for each landfill is a priority to determine the fate and transport of the potential contaminants of concern but the lack of subsurface data is an obstacle.