Specificity of hydrogeological monitoring of industrial waste storage facilities

Abstract

Currently, a large number of waste storage facilities (primarily ash dumps), designed and built more than 20-30 years ago, are located within residential areas of major cities. Considering the large area of the facilities, their remoteness from the industrial sites of power plants and the low hazard class of the stored waste, only the installation of barriers at the main entrances is used as protective measures, which is not a significant obstacle for the population or domestic animals. Thus, the active inclusion of ash dumps in the sphere of industrial and recreational interests of residents of nearby areas becomes an objective reality. At the same time, since dumps are potentially dangerous objects, a system for monitoring the safety of their operation is of particular importance. This paper is devoted to the problem of the quality of monitoring the technical condition and environmental safety of industrial waste storage facilities, taking into account their active anthropogenic use. Based on the analysis of the data of field observations at the operating ash dumps, the main problems characteristic for the hydrogeological maintenance of dumps in contemporary conditions, and their influence on the quality of the work performed, are highlighted. The results of the study can be used in assessing the technical condition of test equipment networks and the reliability of the measured indicators, as well as in the development of measures to improve the quality of hydrogeological monitoring of the geological environment on the territory of industrial sites, operating and inactive storage tanks.