How can models be used at landfill sites?
At landfill sites where no off-site monitoring data are available, emissions data (measured or calculated) from the landfill may be input into a mathematical model to estimate potential contaminant concentrations in surrounding neighborhoods. Models may also be used to estimate the landfill’s contribution to measured air pollution, as was done by ATSDR during its study of the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York. This modeling is most applicable in urban areas where multiple sources may be present. Also, if an emission rate model such as EPA’s LandGEM is used, it can predict the increase in emissions over time as more waste is added to an open landfill or the decrease in emissions after a landfill is closed. These values could be input into air models to predict increases and decreases in ambient air concentrations and exposures over a period of years. What factors should be considered when reviewing models? It is possible (though not likely) that air modeling was conducted
