Chapter 1
Introduction
Abstract The environmental impacts of contaminated sites on soil and groundwater have attracted increasing attention worldwide and emerged as an important
bottleneck for the sustainable development of human society. According to the
nationwide investigations of groundwater contamination conducted by the Ministry
of Ecology and Environment and the China Geological Survey in recent years,
municipal domestic waste landfills, hazardous waste landfills, and oil-contaminated
sites have become typical sources of groundwater contamination that pose a serious
threat to the surrounding ecological environment. This chapter first introduces the
concept of groundwater contaminated sites, then introduces the history of
groundwater contaminated site surveys and assessments in China and the world,
and finally points out the problems and development trends of groundwater contaminated site surveys and assessments in China.
Keywords Municipal solid waste landfill Á Hazardous waste landfill Á
Oil-contaminated site Á Groundwater Á Pollution source Á Risk assessment
1.1 Overview of Groundwater Contamination Sites
Referring to China’s Codes for Environmental Pollution Source Categories (GB/T
16706–1996), groundwater contamination sites mean areas where the groundwater
environment suffers from or is exposed to direct discharge of physically, chemically
and biologically hazardous substances or energy. Along with economic and social
development, both national productivity and pollution emissions exhibit an
increasing trend. A considerable number of groundwater sites are polluted due to
disorderly trash mound, landfill leakage, leakage of petrochemical transmission
lines, and relocation of backward enterprises. As a result, the unrelieved soil and
groundwater pollution aggravates the already grave water shortage. In the
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, for example, groundwater supports more than 75% of
urban drinking water supply, but the current situation of groundwater quality is not
optimistic at all. About 72% of shallow groundwater has been contaminated to
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Xi et al., Investigation and Assessment Technology for Typical
Groundwater-contaminated Sites and Application Cases,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2845-3_1
1
Introduction
Abstract The environmental impacts of contaminated sites on soil and groundwater have attracted increasing attention worldwide and emerged as an important
bottleneck for the sustainable development of human society. According to the
nationwide investigations of groundwater contamination conducted by the Ministry
of Ecology and Environment and the China Geological Survey in recent years,
municipal domestic waste landfills, hazardous waste landfills, and oil-contaminated
sites have become typical sources of groundwater contamination that pose a serious
threat to the surrounding ecological environment. This chapter first introduces the
concept of groundwater contaminated sites, then introduces the history of
groundwater contaminated site surveys and assessments in China and the world,
and finally points out the problems and development trends of groundwater contaminated site surveys and assessments in China.
Keywords Municipal solid waste landfill Á Hazardous waste landfill Á
Oil-contaminated site Á Groundwater Á Pollution source Á Risk assessment
1.1 Overview of Groundwater Contamination Sites
Referring to China’s Codes for Environmental Pollution Source Categories (GB/T
16706–1996), groundwater contamination sites mean areas where the groundwater
environment suffers from or is exposed to direct discharge of physically, chemically
and biologically hazardous substances or energy. Along with economic and social
development, both national productivity and pollution emissions exhibit an
increasing trend. A considerable number of groundwater sites are polluted due to
disorderly trash mound, landfill leakage, leakage of petrochemical transmission
lines, and relocation of backward enterprises. As a result, the unrelieved soil and
groundwater pollution aggravates the already grave water shortage. In the
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, for example, groundwater supports more than 75% of
urban drinking water supply, but the current situation of groundwater quality is not
optimistic at all. About 72% of shallow groundwater has been contaminated to
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Xi et al., Investigation and Assessment Technology for Typical
Groundwater-contaminated Sites and Application Cases,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2845-3_1
1