To prevent toxic chemicals from leaking into the environment, contractors, designers and landfill-site managers must do a better job of using the latest landfill containment technology and knowledge, according to Dr.
Ljiljana Rodic. Otherwise, we’ll soon be brushing our teeth with toxic waste.
“Bulldozers often damage the special foil lining for containing waste and then dangerous chemicals leak into the groundwater,” says Dr. Rodic, whose recent PhD. in Safety Sciences studied the current practices in waste landfilling. Having interviewed more than fifty experts in this field from all over the world, Rodic’s research revealed that serious errors in landfill construction, design and waste-handling are causing unnecessary risks for human health and the environment.
Special technologies have been developed to contain waste and hazardous chemicals. Impermeable foils prevent further leakage of waste into the ground, and sand and gravel layers can stop the movement of solid waste. However, during waste dumping, these thin, delicate layers are often damaged by incautious truck and bulldozer drivers.
Rodic discovered, moreover, that other factors are increasing the risk of toxic waste leaking into the environment, beginning with the design of waste landfills. “Civil engineers who can build highly complex arc bridges do not automatically know how to design waste landfills,” says Rodic, adding that civil engineers often have insufficient knowledge of biochemical processes and consequently design waste landfills that do not prevent the leakage of dangerous chemicals.
Education
“Civil engineers might think designing a waste landfill is easy. But designing something that must contain dangerous chemicals is a lot more complicated than making something waterproof. Layers of clay for example can serve as barriers for water, but organic solvents can make large holes in them,” Rodic says.
The solution, she believes, is for waste landfill designers to work more closely with microbiologists and chemists in order to understand and control the dangerous chemical cocktails fermenting in waste landfill sites. They should also take a longer term perspective. Currently, waste landfill sites are designed to function properly for fifty years. What happens after that is a big question. Rodic: “The environmental safety of waste landfills should be guaranteed for more than fifty years.”
A thorn in the side of legislators is illegal waste dumping makes it nearly impossible to guarantee environmental safety. Some experts Rodic interviewed said this occurs regularly at landfill sites. And if a landfill site isn’t designed to contain toxic waste, environmental pollution occurs. If, for example, toxic chemicals are illegally dumped at municipal waste sites, the chemicals leak into the ground because municipal sites aren’t built with special protective layers.
According to Rodic, part of the problem lies with the workers who check incoming waste: “Many of them have a very low level of education because, after all, who has the ambition to work at a landfill site?” The solution, she believes, is the same as for engineers who are not competent enough to design and build waste landfill sites: better education and communication.
To prevent toxic chemicals from leaking into the environment, contractors, designers and landfill-site managers must do a better job of using the latest landfill containment technology and knowledge, according to Dr. Ljiljana Rodic. Otherwise, we’ll soon be brushing our teeth with toxic waste.
“Bulldozers often damage the special foil lining for containing waste and then dangerous chemicals leak into the groundwater,” says Dr. Rodic, whose recent PhD. in Safety Sciences studied the current practices in waste landfilling. Having interviewed more than fifty experts in this field from all over the world, Rodic’s research revealed that serious errors in landfill construction, design and waste-handling are causing unnecessary risks for human health and the environment.
Special technologies have been developed to contain waste and hazardous chemicals. Impermeable foils prevent further leakage of waste into the ground, and sand and gravel layers can stop the movement of solid waste. However, during waste dumping, these thin, delicate layers are often damaged by incautious truck and bulldozer drivers.
Rodic discovered, moreover, that other factors are increasing the risk of toxic waste leaking into the environment, beginning with the design of waste landfills. “Civil engineers who can build highly complex arc bridges do not automatically know how to design waste landfills,” says Rodic, adding that civil engineers often have insufficient knowledge of biochemical processes and consequently design waste landfills that do not prevent the leakage of dangerous chemicals.
Education
“Civil engineers might think designing a waste landfill is easy. But designing something that must contain dangerous chemicals is a lot more complicated than making something waterproof. Layers of clay for example can serve as barriers for water, but organic solvents can make large holes in them,” Rodic says.
The solution, she believes, is for waste landfill designers to work more closely with microbiologists and chemists in order to understand and control the dangerous chemical cocktails fermenting in waste landfill sites. They should also take a longer term perspective. Currently, waste landfill sites are designed to function properly for fifty years. What happens after that is a big question. Rodic: “The environmental safety of waste landfills should be guaranteed for more than fifty years.”
A thorn in the side of legislators is illegal waste dumping makes it nearly impossible to guarantee environmental safety. Some experts Rodic interviewed said this occurs regularly at landfill sites. And if a landfill site isn’t designed to contain toxic waste, environmental pollution occurs. If, for example, toxic chemicals are illegally dumped at municipal waste sites, the chemicals leak into the ground because municipal sites aren’t built with special protective layers.
According to Rodic, part of the problem lies with the workers who check incoming waste: “Many of them have a very low level of education because, after all, who has the ambition to work at a landfill site?” The solution, she believes, is the same as for engineers who are not competent enough to design and build waste landfill sites: better education and communication.
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