Risk Assessment of old Deposits – Practical Experiences

Currently there are 91,722 suspected waste disposal sites registered in Germany. As a result of an enormous increase of waste mass and volume between 1950 and 1980 (doubling of household waste volume between 1950 and 1960 in Germany!) and the lack of both environmental awareness and suitable treatment methods at this era, waste was mainly dumped in the landscapes at the peripheries. Typical sites that were used for waste disposal were crater, gravel-/sandpits, trenches, (dried) channels and any kinds of natural hollows or pits. Almost all sites are characterized by uncontrolled and undocumented waste dumping without compaction, the lack of lining or securing systems and the long term substance emissions into atmosphere, soil and groundwater.