Landfills can pose environmental risks to human health and the environment.
While modern landfills are equipped with pollution control devices that minimize environmental releases, several potential environmental effects exist. Wastes that either contain hazardous constituents or that can mobilize hazardous constituents in landfilled wastes present the most environmental risk. Also see checklists on Ecosystem Preservation and Protection, Vehicle Maintenance, Siting, Highways and Bridges, and Hazardous Waste Storage and Treatment Facilities. Many of the questions and concerns discussed below are now included in the EPA Federal minimum national requirements for municipal landfills. Siting Concerns .