COMPLIANCE INFO_1968-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

® 1 LA 3 5811 February, 1968 SA 1 �; 3 in. Io .tent the Journal of the )ultec- SANITARY ENGINEERING DIVISIONp' had I in Proceedings of the American Society 'of Civil Engineers i 4 mas ,eir rhe in- ores FOUNDATION PROBLEMS IN SANITARY LAND FILLSa ' ion [all By George F. Sowers, F. ASCE . nit Of the INTRODUCTION t s a , y- The oldest civil engineering 'construction operation was, most probably, se the making of some sort of sanitary landfill. Primitive man, who could'neither read nor write, realized that he had to bury his excrement and camp wastes to. keep them from the eyes of marauding tribes. Out of superstition and respect for his elders, he sometimes buried the dead. Although the earliest excava- tions made for these purposes were seldom deep and the cover was rarely ty more than a few inches; it is amazing that the remains of these prehistoric re fills are distributed worldwide. In some`areas, they have accumulated layer ' by layer, sometimes intentionally but most of the time haphazardly, to form as the tremendous mesa-like tells on which the villages of the Middle East'are ul frequently located. The practice of burying the dead was extended to the to building of mounds, with grave upon grave, that eventually became founda- ►n tions for temples and places for ceremony. These ancient sanitary land fills are today's archaeological treasure chests, where the student of prehistory n finds significant records of the life of people who did not record their culture ; . . �l in any other way. It is doubtful if the 20th century waste problem will present such romantic c possibilities for the archaeologists of the future. The waste of the modern ?i world has been increasing exponentially with time, and no entirely satis- c factory solution appears imminent. Incineration produces air pollution and IX much of the waste remains as ash and noncombustible debris. Feeding livestock reduces the volume of food wastes, but creates a new waste prob- lem in the excrement of the animals, a nuisance and perhaps even a health Note.--Discussion open until July 1, 1968. To extend the closing date one month, a F' written request must be filed with the Executive Secretary, ASCE. This paper is part of the copyrighted Journal of the Sanitary Engineering Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. 94, No. SA1, February; 1968. Manuscript t was submitted for review for possible publication on June 6, 1967. t aPresented at the February 6-9, 1967, ASCE Environmental Engineering Confer- ence, held at Dallas, Tex. 'Vice Pres. and Consultant; Law Engrg. and Testing Co., Atlanta, Ga.; Regents Prof. of Civ. Engrg., Georgia Inst, of Tech., Atlanta, Ga. 103 ,. a