Investigation of Failure Mechanisms and Migration of Industrial Chemicals at Wilsonville, Illinois

摘要

In late 1981, ground water contamination was discovered in a monitoring well at the Earthline disposal facility near Wilsonville, Illinois. The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) then conducted a 3-yr, multidisciplinary study to determine why the site failed to perform as predicted. Geology, hydrogeology, geochemistry, engineering geology, and x-ray mineralogy were disciplines used in the study of the site. Postulated failure mechanisms included migration through previously undetermined (unmapped) permeable zones, subsidence of an underground mine, organic chemical/clay interactions, acid mine drainage/clay interactions, and trench cover settlement and erosion. The study concluded that the primary reason for the rapid migration was the presence of previously undetermined permeable zones that included fractured and jointed glacial till formations.