Finding buried toxic waste
The number of sites contaminated by toxic waste or other environmental catastrophes has grown considerably in past decades. It is essential that multidisciplinary techniques be evolved to characterise such sites, especially in light of reclamation plans. Ten partners from five different European countries came together in the HYGEIA project to take on this challenge. Progress in developing a complete methodology based on geophysical techniques was made. Furthermore, proposals were made regarding future needs for both hardware and software. One recommendation made based on the experience gained during HYGEIA is that the geophysical survey should include two complementary techniques. It is important to balance the trade-off between speed and resolution. Furthermore, measuring two different parameters at the same time provided useful feedback. Perhaps even more important is the need to carry out an extensive site assessment prior to the survey. The major aspects that should be taken into account are: geological and hydrogeological setting, detection of buried objects and dissolved contaminants and, finally, landfill extension. Once this information has been gathered, Decision Support System tools can be called upon to select the most appropriate survey methodology. During the course of HYGEIA, specifications for new tools were developed. For instance, a high resolution positioning system must be created for industrial sites where traditional GPS is insufficient. Furthermore, the use of seismic waves could be expanded if a portable source capable of generating both P and S waves were created. With respect to software, signal processing algorithms must be advanced to aid the detection of buried waste. Even basic improvement of user interfaces is advised. These and other recommendations emerging from the HYGEIA project will contribute to the formation of a coherent methodology for assessing brown field sites.
