Methods for case studies of waste-borne polluted groundwater zones

The processes of deterioration and self-purification in the ground can be evaluated by comparing the chemical, isotope-chemical, microbiological and hygienic properties of the groundwater upstream and downstream of the pollution source. During the investigations at three waste sites the necessary information was collected using the following procedures: (a) construction of a net of observation wells; (b) determination of groundwater direction and velocity using hydrologic and radiohydrometric methods (ksub(f)-determination by pumping-tests and single-well methods, construction of groundwater contours); (c) chemical and physical measurements of water samples from observation wells; (d) microbiological determinations in water and sediments of wells, ponds, creeks, or even of aquifer material itself; (e) evaluation of the data using feasible statistical and graphical tools (electronic data processing) and (f) study of the distribution of stable isotopes in leachates and groundwaters. (author)