| This research develops a system combining Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies to facilitate creating a comprehensive record identifying individual wastes and accurately mapping their geographic location in a repository. Past waste disposal practices entombed substances in local landfills which have been found often to pose a contamination threat to the environment. This has prompted the promulgation of Federal and State regulations to set forth minimum standards for siting and design of future landfills and disposing of hazardous substances. Many former landfill sites are undergoing remediation, but adequate records were not maintained that show the specific internal locations of hazardous substances. An existing hazardous waste site was selected to facilitate the development of the system. Two pilot projects (GPS and GIS) were conducted to evaluate the performance characteristics and individual functional parameters of the system. The GPS pilot project evaluated conventional survey equipment, single frequency GPS receivers, and differential GPS receivers. It showed that GPS receivers could provide the level of accuracy needed to support the database. The second pilot project evaluated the four-dimensional waste tracking system on a pilot-scale level. This project involved using 853 survey records of construction and placement of wastes at a temporary storage area. The data was collected, screened, validated, and incorporated into the GIS to create the database. The system was then used to successfully produce maps depicting the location and distribution of individual wastes at specific times. |
