Urbanization and the Geoenvironment - Sustainable Practices in Geoenvironmental Engineering - page 226

TABLE 7.2
Urban Land Uses and Activities Leading to Contaminated Land

Activity Leading to
Soil Contamination Industry Type of Contaminant

Airports Deicing and ire control runoff,

servicing, fueling

Acids/alkalis, asbestos, solvents, herbicides,
PCBs, fuels, deicing agents, ire-ighting
chemicals

Animal
slaughterhouses

Leaking tanks, pipework, spillages Acids/alkalis, organic compounds, pathogens,

metals, metalloids

Auto repair and
reinishing

Leaking tanks, spills, sprays, solid
wastes

Metals, dust, VOCs, solvent, paints and paint
sludges, scrap metal, waste oils

Battery recycling and
disposal

Discarded batteries Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cr

Incinerators Solid wastes, gaseous emissions Dioxin, ash, metals, wastes

Laundries and
dry-cleaning

Spillage of solvents and other
contaminants

Organic compounds including solvents
(chloroform, TCE), PCE, PCBs, fuels, asbestos

Landills (municipal
and industrial)

Leachates and gaseous emissions Metals, VOCs, PCBs, ammonia, methane,

household products and cleaners, pesticides,
wastes, hydrogen sulide

Paper and printing
works

Leakage from drums and other
contaminants, may be buried on
site, spillages of solvents and
other materials

Metals, inorganic compounds, acids, alkalis,
solvents, inks, degreasing solvents, fuels, oils,
PCBs, inorganic ions

Railway yards and
tracks

Maintenance and repair of tracks,
engines, coal storage

Fuel oils, lubricating oils, PCBs, PAHs,
solvents, ethylene glycol, creosote, herbicides,
metal ines, asbestos, ash, sulfate

Sewage treatment Disposal of sludges, stones and

solid matter in landill and other
places

Metals, PCBs, PAHs, solvents, pathogens,
acids/alkalis, inorganic compounds

Transport depots Fuelling, vehicle washing and

maintenance, storage of tires and
wastes, leaks from split drums

Metals such as Pb, Cr, Zn, Cu, vanadium,
Acids/alkalis, solvents, PAHs, asbestos

Waste disposal Inorganic chemicals, oils, metals, PCBs, PAHs,

solvents, acids/alkalis, inorganic compounds
detergents, asbestos
Sources: Adapted from Syms, P., Previously Developed Land, Industrial Activities and Contamination , 2nd ed.,
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2004; USEPA, Road Map to Understanding Innovative Technology Options for
Brownields Investigation and Cleanup , 2nd ed., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ofice of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response, Washington, DC, EPA, 542 B-99-009, 1999b.

Landill leachates, waste transfer
station spills

7.3.5 Impact of Urban Waste Disposal

Improper waste disposal has a major negative impact on the land. Wastes can be in solid
forms as municipal solid waste (MSW), in liquid forms as sewage and wastewater, or in
gaseous forms from vehicular emissions. Solid wastes can originate from (a) households as
food and yard wastes, paper, chemicals, wood, and so on, (b) urban businesses that gener-
ate wastes similar to household wastes, (c) industrial wastes, and (d) construction wastes.
Hospital wastes have been discussed in Chapter 4. As there are many factors that inluence
production of wastes, computer models have been developed to estimate waste production
rates and contaminant transport through the waste.
Various hydraulic computer models have been developed to calculate contaminant
iniltration rates. Some of these models include (a) hydraulic evaluation of landill