MONITORING GAS EMISSIONS FROM LANDFILL SITES

Gas emission from landfill is related to both site conditions and envi ronmental changes, yet almost no data are being gathered in the field to describe this linkage adequately. In this paper the results of a re view of selected sites in the UK and Germany are presented: they illus trate how even continuous recording proves insufficient for the purpos e of explaining gas emissions from site. Site stratigraphy must be kno wn in some detail if either continuous or frequent recording is to be used meaningfully, because site stratigraphy largely governs the pathw ays available for gas migration. As shown in the example presented her e, it is also necessary to add a record of site history to that of sit e stratigraphy and environmental change if records of gas emission wit h time are to be properly interpreted. (C) 1997 ISWA.