Seismic design of solid waste containment facilities

Observations of performance in earthquakes show that solid waste landfills can sustain very strong shaking with limited damage and without a harmful discharge of contaminants. The excellent record of seismic performance of landfills is tempered by limited experience with geosynthetic containment systems. The potential for amplification of ground motions by the waste mass and the low yield acceleration often associated with geosynthetic cover systems indicate that attention is warranted to this issue. An overview of this problem is given, including seismic design methods and criteria and future challenges.