Environmental risks and problems of the optimal management of an oil shale semi-coke and ash landfill in Kohtla-Järve, Estonia.
The main wastes of the Estonian shale oil industry - oil shale semi-coke and ashes - are deposited in landfills. The Kohtla-Järve oil shale semi-coke and ash landfill, which is likely the largest of its kind in the World, was started in 1938. The environmental risks connected with the landfill were assessed and prioritized. The most significant hazard to human health is emission of harmful landfill gases and the water contamination in the local river network is harmful for aqueous organisms. The spatial expansion of subsurface contamination predicted by the groundwater transport model completed is practically insignificant from the viewpoint of health services. The landfill's leachates must be captured and purified, and the closed part of the landfill should be covered by greenery. The partial landfill capping recently executed is useless. The EU Landfill Directive requirements imposed on the hydraulic resistance of geological barriers cannot prevent the leakage of contaminants from a landfill.
Tallinn University of Technology, Institute of Geology, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia. Electronic address: leo.vallner@ttu.ee.
Leo
L
Vallner
Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Chemistry, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia. Electronic address: oggavrilova@gmail.com.
Olga
O
Gavrilova
Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Chemistry, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia. Electronic address: raivo@kbfi.ee.
Raivo
R
Vilu
D003077:Coke / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004957:Estonia; D000066388:Oil and Gas Industry; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods*; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
D003077:Coke; D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Contaminant; Environmental risk; Groundwater transport; Landfill; Oil shale; Semi-coke