Investigation of the potential hazards generators in the vicinity of the municipal landfills

Abstract

Areas situated in the proximity to landfills have several features of great importance in further, as some of these areas can get changing in the future to residential destinations. It is therefore important to determine the quality of environmental components in these areas and to identify all hazards that may create risks for the area analyzed. Complex investigations carried out in the proximity to landfills will have as a final risk estimation, one of which shows the importance induced by the emissions of methane that may migrate into soil / subsoil in the vicinity of the deposit. This paper presents a methodology for assessing risks with the following steps: the documentary stage involves collecting relevant information on the landfill site, site history, and the date on geomorphology, geology and hydrogeology of the area. In the subsequent stages, it identifies the potential sources of the gaseous emissions in soil / subsoil and the potential migration pathways and receptors proceed to investigate complex area. As a case study was chosen site of a landfill in Bucharest, which was crossed methodology of investigation: they made wells and the gas collection were measured in situ the concentrations of gases (CH4, O2, CO2, CO and H2S) with a portable analyzer, were made boreholes to determine the groundwater flow conditions and analytical investigations on the environmental quality of components (soil, groundwater, surface water) in the proximity of the landfill. In terms of the methodology, the risk estimation is based on the identification and the expression of two categories of factors, including the likelihood and effects on receptors that highlight risk levels resulting in a scale with five levels of risk, at a very low risk to high risk levels. The risk can be quantified by the indicator "Gas Screening Value", which is the product of the maximum concentration measured in gas borehole and the measured flow. Applying the methodology for the selected location as a case study allowed the identification of hazards and risk generating, the risk assessment, elements necessary to development the measures of protection required are taken in case the future of location will be for the residential.