Bedrock control of leachate migration from the Torrington Landfill, Torrington, CT
- YWC Technologies, Trumbull, CT (United States)
The Torrington Landfill lies within the Western Connecticut Highlands and overlies the geologic contact between the interlayered schists and gneisses of the Hartland Formation from the medium grained granites and pegmatites of the Tyler Lake Granite. The contact separating the two formations, exposed to the south and north of the landfill, is sharp and discordant. Geologic structures observed at the outcrop scale include a dominant foliation, several generations of folding, and three dominant fracture orientations measuring N70W, N35W, and N15E. Bedrock controlled surface topography directs the flow of leachate from the landfill in the overburden aquifer and prevents the leachate from migrating in a radial pattern. Outcrops to the west, southwest, southeast, east, and north of the landfill act as barriers to leachate migration and funnel leachate through two bedrock valleys present along the south and northeast sides of the landfill. Leachate migration within the crystalline bedrock occurs primarily through fracture zones. Field observations suggest that neither the intrusive contact between the two formations nor the dominant foliation are likely leachate migration pathways. The ability of the fractured bedrock to transmit leachate depends on the extent of fracture development and the degree of fracture interconnection. Those areas where fractures are well developed generally show topographic expression, such as along the course of Peck Brook and the southern bedrock valley, and are documented pathways for leachate migration. These interpretations regarding leachate migration pathways from the landfill within both the overburden and bedrock aquifers are supported by historical groundwater monitoring data, and by data generated from a geophysical survey completed around the perimeter of the landfill.
- OSTI ID:
- 5854304
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9303211--
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Vol. 25:2; ISSN GAAPBC; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
540220* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540250 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (1990-)
CONNECTICUT
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISPERSIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOLOGY
GNEISSES
GRANITES
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROLOGY
IGNEOUS ROCKS
LEACHATES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
MIXTURES
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLUTONIC ROCKS
ROCKS
SANITARY LANDFILLS
SCHISTS
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SOLUTIONS
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WATER