ERT and IPT surveys to check the integrity of the geomembrane in the landfill of Bellolampo (Palermo, Italy)

In landfills, changes in resistivity and chargeability can be related to the characteristics of the waste and they can be abrupt and considerable within short distances. These physical properties are function of generation, mobility and degree of saturation of the leachate, gas generation, compaction density and variability. These relationships mean that it can be possible to get an overall image of the quantity and characteristics of the waste from surface electrical measurements over the landfill. In this paper, we present and discuss the results of three electrical tomographies carried out in the landfill site of Bellolampo (Palermo, Italy). The main aim of these surveys was to check the integrity of the geomembrane. The application of the geoelectrical methods have allowed to obtain useful information to check the integrity of the geomembrane at the base of the new landfill built in the waste site of Bellolampo, unfortunately on fractured limestones and at high risk of pollution. The comparison between ERT and IPT, performed upstream, above and downstream of the landfill, allowed to identify the electrical properties of the rock, waste and leachate, and detect the possible presence of plumes of pollutant nearby and below the landfill.