Environmental geology. Handbook of field methods and case studies / Экологическая геология. Справочник по полевым методам и тематическим исследованиям

Increasing population density and industrialization are creating a high strain on the natural environment and resources of many countries. Therefore, precautionary measures to protect the environment and remedial action to repair the damages of the past have high priority. Resources to be protected are surface water and groundwater, soil and air. Hazards to these resources are landfills and industrial sites as well as mining facilities, including tailings, conditioning plants, and smelters, oil refineries, distribution facilities and pipelines, gas stations and other areas used by humans (e.g., military training sites).
Waste disposal, mining, and industrial sites are an absolutely necessary part of the infrastructure of an industrial society. Suitable new sites must be found for the disposal of waste and for mining and industrial facilities. It is often very difficult to obtain political approval and this is possible only if state-of-the-art methods are used to show that such sites have layers that can function as barrier, preventing entry of contaminants into the environment. Areas of both consolidated and unconsolidated rock can be suitable sites for landfills and industrial facilities. <...>