Groundwater contamination plume monitoring in sealed waste dumps

With the approval in 1997 of the Strategic Plan for Municipal Waste, Portugal took a step towards the implementation of a sustainable waste management policy. One of the main purposes of the plan was to seal and close 300 waste dumps.

Nevertheless, sealing waste dumps does not mean that they are no longer an environmental hazard, since almost of them were constructed many years ago, without taking into account the present legislation. Therefore, after being closed a monitoring plan should be implemented and, when necessary, characterization studies must be undertaken to avoid unforeseen problems.

To design monitoring plans for these areas, it is very essential to have knowledge of local geology and hydrogeology, since potential contamination of soils and groundwater depends essentially on the physical characteristics of the area (porosity and permeability) and local dynamic of fluids (water level, flow direction).

This paper presents a methodology for monitoring the surrounding area of sealed waste dumps in Portugal and for determining the presence of contamination in groundwater.

• ABSTRACT

• INTRODUCTION

• METHODOLOGY

• CONCLUSIONS

• BIBLIOGRAPHY