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Waste is a problem. We all make it, but none of us wants a landfill site 'in our back yard'. So
where do we put it?
Quarrying makes holes in the ground which could be filled with something to help to return the area to its original
condition. But not all quarries are suitable sites - most commonly because they would leak. So, which kind of
quarry/pit is best for landfill - sand, clay, limestone, chalk, igneous rock? Which of these rocks are porous and
permeable, which are likely to be fractured and jointed - and which quarries are in the catchment area of the local
council which needs to find a landfill site?
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Not that there is always much choice, since any kind of landfill site is becoming more and more difficult to find,
let alone an ideal one. The principle aim is to prevent solutions which are created as rain percolates through the
discarded food and chemicals - everything is made of chemicals! - from leaking out of the site and into the ground
water or surface streams, not forgetting the bacteriological concoctions that come from rotting food. The composition
of these chemical solutions varies from site to site, and depend on what we throw away. The general term 'leachate' is
used to cover all these varieties.
Any suggestions? |
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Radioactive waste presents a much more difficult problem - one which hasn't been solved yet. High level waste remains radioactive for thousands of years. Wherever the waste is stored, there is the potential for a geological event, such as an earthquake, to cause a leak of the radioactive material.
So, under what geological conditions would you accept a site for the deep burial of radioactive waste in an area near you - what kind of rock type, geological structure, depth, water table, and so on?
So why hasn't a suitable site been found yet?
Geopix Study Topic "Waste Disposal" includes
- a consideration of suitable quarries and pits for landfill;
- a consideration of the effects of geological structures;
- methods used to improve the water-tightness of a site;
- a discussion of the problem of radioactive waste.
To order the "Applied Geology" Study Guide on CD, or the "Waste Disposal" Study Topic by download,
please visit the Geopix on-line store
The "Waste Disposal" Study Topic includes the following pages:
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