Laboratory testing of soil samples for barrier purpose: the Ouro Preto (Brazil) dumping site case

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4. Laboratory testing of soil samples for barrier purpose: the Ouro Preto (Brazil) dumping site case

Ensuring environmental protection is mandatory for waste containment facilities, such as municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. The Ouro Preto MG municipality has continuously dumped its MSW in a close site where few engineering measures were adopted for environmental protection, exception made to the daily cover procedures, pave way construction and the area isolation. Nowadays, about 40 tons of MSW are disposed daily at that site, and the absence of base liners probably has led to groundwater contamination. This research evaluates the adequacy of two soils from that dump site to be used as base liner and cover systems. The first soil sample is original from the site itself, consisting of a typical clayey red residual lateritic soil, whose local volume seems to satisfy the barrier requirements. The other soil sample came from an embankment placed at the site when a great landslide that took place at the vicinities of the dump in January/2022. It is a grayish green saprolite soil, originated from nearby phyllite rocks. Laboratory tests were carried out for physical characterization and for the determination of the hydraulic conductivity (variable head) of compacted soil specimens (Normal Proctor). The red lateritic sample index properties and its average hydraulic conductivity of 2.41 x 10^-7 cm/s indicate its suitability for barrier purpose, including base liner and cover systems. The index properties and a K value of 6.34 x 10^-6 cm/s restricts the use of the green saprolite sample for base liner, but shows that it can be applied on cover systems.

XVII Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (XVII PCSMGE)

Poster Presentations MT 1 Geotechnical Characterization