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Geotechnical Quality Assurance of Construction of Disposal Facilities

Soil Mechanics Division, Geotechnical Laboratory, Waterways Experiment Station, PO Box 631, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180, U.S.A.

Michael F. Kelley

Soil Mechanics Division, Geotechnical Laboratory, Waterways Experiment Station, PO Box 631, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180, U.S.A.

This paper summarizes the technical resource document of the same name (U.S. EPA-600/S2-84-040, March 1984). Although the technical resource document is specifically addressed to the construction of hazardous waste disposal facilities within the U.S.A., most of the topics discussed and most of the general suggestions made are of universal applicability. The need for a quality assurance programme as a management practice which assures the protection of the human health and environment is discussed within the framework of the EPA regulations promulgated on 26 July 1982, The permittee of a hazardous waste disposal facility is shown to be somewhat unique in the construction industry given the three responsibilities, design, construction and operations, and quality assurance, all consolidated with him. The geotechnical parameters which should be tested, observed and documented during the construction, operation and closure of a disposal facility are identified. The limitations of design properties tests and the applicability of index properties tests are discussed. A summarized statistical analysis of sampling size, frequency and distribution to support a hazardous waste disposal facility quality assurance programme is presented. Accepted and commonly used methods for testing water content, unit weight, specific gravity, grain-size distribution, liquid limit, plastic limit, cohesive soil consistency, water content/density/compactive effort, cohesionless soil relative density, and geomembranes/geotextiles are identified. The criteria for the selection of a particular test method are discussed. A quality assurance programme, suitable for the somewhat unique permittee of a hazardous waste disposal facility, is presented. Considerations for such a quality assurance programme are also addressed.

Key Words: Hazardous waste • disposal facility • landfill • surface impoundment • land treatment • test methods • U.S.A. • assurance • inspection • quality documentation • geotechnical parameters.

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