Open dumps in the Hellenic prefecture of Laconia: statistical analysis of characteristics and restoration prioritization on the basis of a field survey

摘要

This study assessed the 2005 status of SWM in Laconia prefecture, which is unfortunately still largely based on open dumping of waste. Forty-two dumps were registered, located relatively close to populated centres, dense vegetation areas and Natura 2000 protected areas. A statistical analysis revealed no evidence that distance from populated centres was taken into account when deciding upon their location. Hazardous materials are disposed of in 85% of them, and open burning of wastes is still practised in 15% of them. On the other hand they are small sites of between 0.5 and 1 ha and in 37% of the sites soil coverage of waste materials takes place. The low values of hazard degree (ε) of open dumps, calculated according to the national guidelines' standard decision tool, are mainly due to the fact that only small amounts of waste materials are produced in Laconia prefecture and that at most of the sites underground waters are deeper than 10 m. Although these guidelines comprise a quick and easy-to-use toolkit for restoration plans, they produce results that may underestimate the hazards of open dumping, since soil coverage of waste and open combustion are not taken into account and the contamination of underground water is only calculated by estimation of permeability of soil and distance of waste from the aquifer. The use of PCA to further categorize the sites subjected to hazard analysis offers a practical methodology for organizing the restoration plans for open dumps and it or another suitable factor analysis method could be a useful addition to existing legislation. Use of fuzzy sets for modelling binary variables (compression of waste, animal grazing in the area, etc) might also enhance the analysis, because it would more accurately quantify the contributions of such variables to the impact of open dumps on the environment and public health.