Disposal of toxic waste on landfill sites.

Abstract

IT CAN be readily demonstrated from first principles that an ecosystem which does not safely deal with its own toxic wastes is doomed. Earlier ecosystems successfully evolved ways of dealing with this problem but one result of the Industrial Revolution is that many wastes to which the present ecosystem is not adjusted are being emitted in vast quantities. This paper introduces the concept of an objective assessment of certain hazards presented by the disposal of toxic waste on landfill sites and suggests a theoretical approach based on quantative risk criteria.