Design of a model to assess the environmental risk of leachate dams

Abstract

Leachate dams store very toxic liquids, leachate, that contain a large amount of pollutant substances. Most of them are located in gullies or ravines, so if a dam breaks, leachate would advance downstream provoking an important environmental impact. In order to assess this environmental risk, the following procedure has been established: firstly, rating curves have been set up which relate characteristics of the dam with the environmental risk, secondly, a weight has been assigned to each parameter, and thirdly, the environmental elements which could be affected by the leachate have been assessed. Relating the risk generated by the characteristics of the dam with the environmental elements located in the risk area, the environmental risk index of a leachate dam can be calculated. If the environmental risk index exceeds a certain value, then it is a dam with a high environmental risk. A high value can be due to low geotechnical stability, to very sensitive environmental elements, or both. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.