Land instability assessment for waste management sites

It is important that waste management and disposal sites and their environs are not liable to be affected by land instability. This might, for instance, damage containment, drainage and ancillary treatment installations for landfill and landraising sites, or affect buildings at other types of facility. Operators must satisfy themselves that the stability of proposed sites has been properly investigated and that, where necessary, appropriate precautionary or remedial measures have been taken in the design. In Northern Ireland there are over 2000 known abandoned mines and adits. Abandoned mines represent a potential source of instability which is quite distinct from surface instabilities arising from naturally occurring geological and geotechnical circumstances.