This book presents, for the first time in one place, the results of the latest research regarding water balance covers for solid waste sites, along with case studies drawn from current field testing. Water Balance Covers for Waste Containment: Principles and Practice introduces water balance covers and compares them with conventional approaches to waste containment. The authors give detailed analysis of the fundamentals of soil physics and design issues, introduce applicable ecological concepts and revegetation practices, and then move on to construction, modeling, and maintenance. A viable alternative to conventional landfill cover systems, water balance covers (also known as store-and-release and evapotranspiration covers) cycle water from the soil to the atmosphere during growing season, minimizing the percolation of rainwater through the soil, and thus the production of leachate from land fill contents. This book will be valuable to practicing engineers, as well as regulatory analysts.

President Carter's 1980 declaration of a state of emergency at Love Canal, New York, recognized that residents' health had been affected by nearby chemical waste sites. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, enacted in 1976, ushered in a new era of waste management disposal designed to protect the public from harm. It required that modern waste containment systems use "engineered" barriers designed to isolate hazardous and toxic wastes and prevent them from seeping into the environment. These containment systems are now employed at thousands of waste sites around the United States, and their effectiveness must be continually monitored. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers assesses the performance of waste containment barriers to date. Existing data suggest that waste containment systems with liners and covers, when constructed and maintained in accordance with current regulations, are performing well thus far. However, they have not been in existence long enough to assess long-term (postclosure) performance, which may extend for hundreds of years. The book makes recommendations on how to improve future assessments and increase confidence in predictions of barrier system performance which will be of interest to policy makers, environmental interest groups, industrial waste producers, and industrial waste management industry.

Hard rock mines have significant effects on the territories where they operate, through both infrastructure construction as well as resource use. Due to their extractive activities, these mines store large quantities of wastes at the surface, which can be both physically and chemically unstable. Reclamation aims to return a mine site to a satisfactory state, meaning that the site should not threaten human health or security, should not generate in the long term any contaminant that could significantly affect the surrounding environment, and should be aesthetically acceptable to communities. This book focuses on the reclamation of waste storage areas, which constitute the main source of pollution during and after mine operations, and especially issues with acid mine drainage and neutral contaminated drainage. Features: Provides fundamental information and describes practical methods to reclaim mine-waste facilities Compares the different methods and illustrates their application at sites through case studies Identifies new reclamation issues and proposes solutions to address them Presents existing and new technologies to reclaim mine waste disposal areas from hard rock mines in different climatic conditions Integrates reclamation into mine operations and long term performance of techniques used through an interdisciplinary approach With mine site reclamation a young and still emerging science, the training needs for professionals and students working in this field are huge. This book is written from an engineering point of view and in it the authors identify new reclamation issues and propose well-tested as well as innovative approaches to addressing them. Students in graduate programs focused on mines and the environment as well as professionals already working in departments related to mine site reclamation will find this book to be a valuable and essential resource.

The most comprehensive design reference available on remediation techniques, waste disposal methods and various waste containment systems. Covers several important new issues such as the regulatory structure of RCRA Subtitles C and D; subsurface flow and transport of contaminants; liner systems, leachate collection and removal systems for landfills; and seismic stability analysis of landfills. Describes new waste stabilization technologies including the process of converting non-solid toxic waste into inert solids.