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Contaminant Transport from Landfills to Streams, Wetlands and Wells
About Dr. Ronald Baker
Dr. Baker is a hydrologist for the USGS. His research interests include nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in estuaries and watersheds , reactive transport of chemical contaminants in the environment, and contamination of groundwater by landfills. He holds a B.S. in Botany from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and Science from Drexel University, Philadelphia.
About the Seminar
In the work presented here, a solute transport model was used to estimate the concentrations of contaminants reaching receptors (streams, wetlands, and wells) originating from landfills in the New Jersey Coastal Plain. A screening tool, based on this model, was developed to assess the risks posed by landfills to receptors and guide regulators as to what remediation, if any, is needed for each landfill.
The model is based on advection, dispersion and attenuation as described by an often-used general transport equation. The screening tool was applied to 30 closed, uncapped landfills in the New Jersey Pinelands. Eighteen landfills were categorized as high-risk, and contaminants responsible for this designation were arsenic, barium, benzene, cyanide, lead, mercury, and selenium.