Abstract:
Cemeteries are generally considered low-risk landfills and are,
therefore, not adequately governed in terms of minimum requirements for
engineering geological and hydrogeological investigations. With the decay of
human bodies, bulk of the contaminant load typically is present within one year
of burial and decreases over time. Further controls include adsorption of
pathogens and particulates to soil in the vadose zone and eventual breakdown in
changing aerobic and anaerobic subsurface environments. A case study is
presented where a cemetery has been active for decades and contains in excess
of 18 000 human bodies. With recent expansion, water seepage was identified
into newly excavated burial pits and all further development has ceased. Trial
pitting and detailed soil profile descriptions are used to infer hydrological
interaction at the site and to address possible contamination pathways. Future
work is recommended with respect to water quality, although valuable insight is
provided to the consequences of improper ground investigation prior to
development. Final comments are made regarding provisional guidelines in the forms of a Cost-Effort-Risk Screen and a multi-faceted Vadose Zone Assessment
Protocol.
