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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF ENGINEERED WASTE CONTAINMENT BARRIERS

Committee to Assess the Performance of Engineered Barriers

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Science (BER) Grant No. DE-FG02-06ER64259; Environmental Protection Agency, Grant No. CR-83211601; National Science Foundation, Grant No. CMS-0243338; and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Award No. NRC-04-02-081. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations contained in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.

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Cover: Scene from the Newcastle golf course, which was built near Seattle, Washington, over a landfill containing demolition and inert construction waste. Photograph courtesy of OK: Golf/Golf Club at Newcastle.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine


The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.


The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.


The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.


The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.


www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

COMMITTEE TO ASSESS THE PERFORMANCE OF ENGINEERED BARRIERS

JAMES K. MITCHELL, Chair,

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

LISA ALVAREZ-COHEN,

University of California, Berkeley

ESTELLA A. ATEKWANA,

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater

SUSAN E. BURNS,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

ROBERT B. GILBERT,

University of Texas, Austin

EDWARD KAVAZANJIAN, JR.,

Arizona State University, Tempe

W. HUGH O’RIORDAN,

Givens Pursley LLP, Boise, Idaho

R. KERRY ROWE,

Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

CHARLES D. SHACKELFORD,

Colorado State University, Fort Collins

HARI D. SHARMA,

Geosyntec Consultants, Oakland, California

NAZLI YESILLER, Independent Consultant,

San Luis Obispo, California

National Research Council Staff

ANNE M. LINN, Study Director

CAETLIN M. OFIESH, Research Associate

JARED P. ENO, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

COMMITTEE ON GEOLOGICAL AND GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING

GREGORY B. BAECHER, Chair,

University of Maryland, College Park

THOMAS W. DOE,

Golder Associates, Redmond, Washington

SANDRA HOUSTON,

Arizona State University, Tempe

WESLEY C. PATRICK,

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas

J. CARLOS SANTAMARINA,

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

A. KEITH TURNER,

Colorado School of Mines, Golden

National Research Council Staff

SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Program Officer

NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES

GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chair,

University of Virginia, Charlottesville

GREGORY B. BAECHER,

University of Maryland, College Park

STEVEN R. BOHLEN,

Joint Oceanographic Institutions, Washington, D.C.

KEITH C. CLARKE,

University of California, Santa Barbara

DAVID COWEN,

University of South Carolina, Columbia

WILLIAM E. DIETRICH,

University of California, Berkeley

ROGER M. DOWNS,

The Pennsylvania State University, University Park

JEFF DOZIER,

University of California, Santa Barbara

KATHERINE H. FREEMAN,

The Pennsylvania State University, University Park

RHEA L. GRAHAM,

Pueblo of Sandia, Bernalillo, New Mexico

ROBYN HANNIGAN,

Arkansas State University, Jonesboro

RUSSELL J. HEMLEY,

Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.

MURRAY W. HITZMAN,

Colorado School of Mines, Golden

V. RAMA MURTHY,

University of Minnesota (retired), Minneapolis

CLAYTON R. NICHOLS,

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (retired), Standpoint

RAYMOND A. PRICE,

Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

BARBARA A. ROMANOWICZ,

University of California, Berkeley

JOAQUIN RUIZ,

University of Arizona, Tucson

MARK SCHAEFER,

Global Environment and Technology Foundation, Arlington, Virginia

WILLIAM W. SHILTS,

Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign

RUSSELL STANDS-OVER-BULL,

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Billings, Montana

TERRY C. WALLACE, JR.,

Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico

THOMAS J. WILBANKS,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

National Research Council Staff

ANTHONY R. DE SOUZA, Director

PAUL M. CUTLER, Senior Program Officer

ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Senior Program Officer

DAVID A. FEARY, Senior Program Officer

ANNE M. LINN, Senior Program Officer

ANN G. FRAZIER, Program Officer

SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Program Officer

RONALD F. ABLER, Senior Scholar

VERNA J. BOWEN, Administrative and Financial Associate

JENNIFER T. ESTEP, Financial Associate

CAETLIN M. OFIESH, Research Associate

JARED P. ENO, Senior Program Assistant

NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Senior Program Assistant

TONYA FONG YEE, Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
×

Preface

Engineered barriers to isolate potentially harmful waste from humans and ecosystems have been used for over 35 years, and much has been written about them and their constituent components. However, few reports have provided an overall assessment of the performance of engineered barrier systems. The last broad assessment was conducted in 1995 (Rumer and Mitchell, 1995). Since that time, new materials and sensor technologies have been introduced and models to predict contaminant transport have improved.

At the request of program managers at the Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy, the National Research Council established a committee to assess the effectiveness of surface and subsurface engineered barriers over the long term. The Committee to Assess the Performance of Engineered Barriers comprised academics and practitioners who collectively possessed expertise covering the science and technology of waste containment system regulations, analyses, design, construction, operations, maintenance, monitoring, and performance evaluation.

The study was guided by recognition that a defensible assessment of the long-term performance of engineered waste barriers must take into account the materials acting both individually and as part of a composite containment system, the type of waste contained, and performance indicators such as leakage rates, contaminant concentrations, and the condition of system components, all as a function of time and location. Information on these and other aspects of barrier systems was gleaned from the literature, briefings at committee meetings and field trips, discussions with colleagues, and the knowledge and experience of committee members. The committee met four times between October 2005 and August 2006 and visited four engineered barrier facilities: the McColl Superfund Site and the Puente Hills Landfill in southern California and the Love Canal treatment facility and the Model City Landfill in New York.

The committee thanks the following individuals for briefing the committee, hosting field trips, or providing background materials: Edmond Bourke, Rachel Detwiler, Brian Downie, Richard Fragaszy, John Hino, Ron Johnson, Jack Keener, Walter Kovalick, Kai Kuo, J. Michael Kuperberg, Kelly Madalinski, Don McLeod, Thomas Nicholson, Scott Parkhill, Jacob Philip, David Rothbart, Brian Sadowski, and Greg Zayatz. Special thanks go to Stephen Hammond and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, who provided data and information on the effectiveness of the state’s modern engineered barrier systems. Finally, the committee extends its thanks and appreciation to Anne Linn, who served so ably and cheerfully as study director. Without her organizational and writing skills, knowledge, enthusiasm, and ability to keep the committee focused and on track, completion of this study would not have been possible.


James K. Mitchell, Chair

Page viii Cite
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
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Acknowledgments

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:


Craig H. Benson, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Rudolph Bonaparte, Geosyntec Consultants, Atlanta, Georgia

Jeffrey C. Evans, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

M. James Hendry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

Susan Hubbard, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Stephan Jefferis, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom

Robert M. Koerner, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Kenneth A. Snyder, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland


Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by William L. Fisher, The University of Texas at Austin. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of the report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
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Contents

 

 

SUMMARY

 

1

1

 

INTRODUCTION

 

5

   

 1.1  What Are Engineered Barriers?,

 

7

   

 1.2  What Is Performance?,

 

8

   

 1.3  Organization of the Report,

 

8

2

 

OVERVIEW OF ENGINEERED BARRIER SYSTEMS

 

11

   

 2.1  Waste Classification and Disposal Requirements,

 

11

   

 2.2  Engineered Barrier Systems,

 

11

   

 2.3  Life Cycle of a Landfill,

 

17

3

 

MONITORING BARRIER PERFORMANCE

 

21

   

 3.1  Statutory Requirements for Monitoring,

 

21

   

 3.2  Containment Site Monitoring Systems,

 

22

   

 3.3  Monitoring of Barrier Components,

 

27

   

 3.4  Monitoring Frequency and Reporting,

 

35

   

 3.5  Conclusions,

 

35

4

 

PERFORMANCE OF BARRIER SYSTEM COMPONENTS

 

37

   

 4.1  Earthen Barriers,

 

37

   

 4.2  Geomembranes,

 

44

   

 4.3  Geosynthetic Clay Liners,

 

47

   

 4.4  Drainage Layers,

 

51

   

 4.5  Evapotranspirative Barriers,

 

54

   

 4.6  Vertical Barriers,

 

55

   

 4.7  Asphalt Concrete Barriers,

 

62

   

 4.8  Summary and Conclusions,

 

62

5

 

CONTAINMENT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

 

65

   

 5.1  Observations of Performance,

 

65

   

 5.2  Predicting the Performance of Barrier Systems,

 

78

   

 5.3  Predicting the Overall Performance of Containment Systems,

 

89

   

 5.4  Conclusions,

 

91

6

 

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 

93

   

 6.1  Engineered Barrier Performance,

 

93

   

 6.2  Data Collection and Distribution,

 

93

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2007. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11930.
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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.

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