We???re delighted to share the most recent Editor???s Choice article from the latest issue of Waste Management & Research (WM&R), as selected by David E. Ross (Associate Editor for the journal). (Find all the Editor???s Choice papers in the collection here.)
The Editors Choice for March is
A novel risk assessment method for landfill slope failure: Case study application for Bhalswa Dumpsite, India
By, Ali Jahanfar, Mohsen Amirmojahedi, Bahram Gharabaghi, Brajesh Dubey, Edward McBean, Dinesh Kumar
Editor???s Comment:
The Editor???s Choice paper for this issue of WM&R presents an approach for assessing the risks of landslides at existing solid waste landfills, particularly those disposal facilities that were developed over the years (and may still be operating) in the absence of strong design standards and construction controls.
It is not uncommon to find, especially in developing countries, landfills constructed over former dumps on relatively small parcels of land, resulting in unduly high piles of municipal solid waste with overly steep side slopes. This is because waste managers have no alternative locations or processing systems to accommodate the waste flows. These landfills are often close to population centres, and the adjacent land is typically inexpensive and readily available for low-cost dwellings essentially at the boundaries of the buried wastes. Not surprisingly, these conditions have led to many sudden and catastrophic landfill slope failures over the past several decades in Asia, Africa, and South America, resulting in many deaths from suffocation and substantial environmental contamination.
This paper describes a way for waste managers to evaluate for a given landfill the potential both for slope failures and fatalities based on a probabilistic risk analysis that reflects landfill conditions and the density of nearby residents. Application of this approach can help city fathers plan for the prioritized expenditure of limited funds to upgrade and/or close first the landfills in their jurisdiction that present the greatest hazards to their citizens.
David E. Ross, Associate Editor, WM&R
