Synoptic Risk Assessment of Groundwater Contamination from Landfills

Sonja Cerar, Luka Serianz, Katja Koren, Joerg Prestor and Nina Mali
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Sonja Cerar: Geological Survey of Slovenia, Dimičeva Ulica 14, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Luka Serianz: Geological Survey of Slovenia, Dimičeva Ulica 14, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Katja Koren: Geological Survey of Slovenia, Dimičeva Ulica 14, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Joerg Prestor: Geological Survey of Slovenia, Dimičeva Ulica 14, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Nina Mali: Geological Survey of Slovenia, Dimičeva Ulica 14, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: Waste management in Europe has improved in recent years, reducing the amount of waste disposed at landfills. However, there are still many landfills in the countries. It is well known that landfills that do not have measures in place to control leachate entering groundwater can contaminate groundwater long after the landfill is closed. Collecting monitoring results from all landfills allows permitting and management agencies to improve action plans. This relies on a synoptic risk assessment that allows prioritization and milestones to be set for required actions. The developed method of synoptic risk assessment is based on a conceptual model of the landfill and the results of chemical groundwater monitoring tested at 69 landfills in Slovenia. The study confirms that most landfills have a direct or indirect impact on groundwater quality. All landfills were classified into three priority classes on the basis of the synoptic risk assessment. The results show that a total of 24 landfills have a clearly pronounced impact on groundwater. A total of 31 landfills have a less pronounced impact due to the favorable natural attenuation capacity of the soil or the technically appropriate design of the landfill itself. A total of 14 landfills have a less pronounced or negligible impact on groundwater.

Keywords: conceptual model; synoptic risk assessment; landfill; groundwater; chemical analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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