IV.5 Principles of vadose and saturated zones monitoring in solid waste sites exemplified in mining waste dumps

Abstract

Waste disposal sites (landfills) can be classified as potential non-point small-area sources of aquatic environmental contamination, though the area occupied by such facilities can range from several tens of square meters to several hundred hectares. They may be formed either as waste dumps on the land surface, or onto the land as impoundments. The amount of atmospheric precipitation that percolates through the vadose zone depends upon the infiltration rate ( I) . At solid waste disposal facilities, particular attention should be paid to the conditions of contaminant migration in the anthropogenic vadose zone of a landfill and in the natural vadose zone beneath the landfill base. The concept behind developing vadose zone monitoring is to provide an early means to detect and, subsequently, intercept or remediate contaminants release from waste disposal facilities before they infiltrate into the saturated zone and degrade recoverable groundwater resources. By providing an early warning for taking instant remedial actions, the potential costs and the loss of recoverable groundwater resources can be greatly reduced.