question: What would happen if we dump biodegradable trash beneath the desert?
comment: The completely deal-breaking con behind any sort of highly specialized/centralized waste disposal such as "throw it in a volcano!" or "Launch it into the sun!" or "Bury it in the middle of nowhere!" is the sheer impracticality of hauling trash long distances. The united states alone generates 230 MILLION TONS of trash every year. It's not practical to take millions of tons of trash from say, Maine and shuttle it a couple thousand miles to a desert. It would cost countless billions of dollars per year and require many, many more hundreds of billions of dollars to set up the nationwide infrastructure to move massive amounts of trash across the country.
passages: However, the solid waste disposal market has changed significantly since the Eagle Mountain landfill was first proposed. There has been a substantial reduction in the waste generated due to recycling efforts and an increase in low-cost traditional disposal sites (most notably in nearby Orange County), eliminating the need for remote solid waste landfills such as the Eagle Mountain landfill. The reduction in waste generated has been so great that the other landfill site owned by the Los Angeles Sanitation Districts, the Mesquite Regional Landfill near Glamis, will not be needed until 2030 at the earliest even though all construction of this facility has been completed and it could immediately start accepting trash.
   Section::::Waste disposal site.:Environmental impact.
   Section::::History.
  
  Section::::History.:Dumping and pollution.
   According to an Environmental Protection Agency study, "the American Petroleum Institute (2002) indicates that 40% to 80% of a product spill may be retained in soils as residual product."). The Department of Environmental Conservation's website states that petroleum companies participating in the cleanup have used a Free Product Recovery System for groundwater, rather than the soils.
   Section::::Landfill.
  
  The Mesquite Regional Landfill, owned by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, which would receive 20,000 tons of solid waste daily by rail, was finished on December 2008. A long rail spur originating from a Union Pacific rail line north of Glamis to the landfill and an intermodal facility were completed by 2011. Rail operations, which would consist of trains carrying waste from a facility in Puente Hills to the landfill, have been postponed due to rising transportation costs and cheaper alternatives on closer landfills.
  
  Section::::External links.
  
  BULLET::::- Mesquite Regional Landfill website
   Section::::Environmental effects.
  
  There are several different forms of air pollutants produced during the mining process including suspended particulate matter and respirable suspended particulate matter. Preventive measures are taken to reduce these pollutants through practices such as using water to reduce dust accumulation during drilling and using several different forms of scrubbers along the mining and processing of the materials to prevent excess release of dust to surrounding areas.
   The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is where the highest temperature ever recorded in New Mexico at occurred during the summer of 1994.
  
  Section::::Future.
  
  Following the interment of waste in the facility, estimated to be sometime between 2025 and 2035, the storage caverns will be collapsed and sealed with 13 layers of concrete and soil. Salt will then seep into and fill the various fissures and cracks surrounding the casks of waste. After approximately 75 years, the waste will be completely isolated from the environment.
   During 1991-93, EPA excavated 255,00 cubic yards (344,250 tons) of poisoned soil, now stockpiled under a plastic cover (3). This was a temporary measure, not a permanent solution (3). For the five-year life of the plastic cover, the excavated waste was prevented from leaching into groundwater or being inhaled, but its time was up at the end of 1997 (3).
   Waste is placed in rooms underground that have been excavated within a thick salt formation (Salado and Castile Formations) where salt tectonics have been stable for more than 250 million years. Because of plasticity effects, salt and water will flow to any cracks that develop, a major reason why the area was chosen as a host medium for the WIPP project. Because drilling or excavation in the area will be hazardous long after the area is actively used, there are plans to construct markers to deter inadvertent human intrusion for the next ten thousand years.
   EPA initiated its work on the Palos Verdes Shelf as a non-time-critical removal action and is implementing the institutional controls program under that authority. EPA continued with the evaluation of ecological risks and sediment cleanup activities such as capping under its remedial program authority. The cleanup decision will be documented in a Record of Decision, supported by the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS).
   The Salado Formation is a massive bedded salt deposit (99% NaCl) that has a simple hydrogeology. Because massive NaCl is somewhat plastic and holes close under pressure, the rock becomes non-porous by effectively closing pores and fractures. This has a significant effect on the overall hydraulic conductivities (water permeabilities) and molecular diffusion coefficients. These are on the order of ≤10 m/s and ≤10 m/s respectively.
  
  Section::::Warning messages for future humans.
   Land pollution is principally caused by thoughtless or illegal disposal of waste waters or solids containing pollutants. Dumping garbage, and littering on the ground, although unsightly, rarely cause much lasting damage unless the material contains non degradable materials such as many plastics or is at risk of entering a watercourse and thus eventually reaching the sea.
  
  Section::::Effects.
   The plant employs two methods to help control the odor that is also produced by all the methane. These two methods are called wet scrubbing, and carbon polishing. The solids that are produced in the digesters is then pushed through the main sludge pumps and is dumped 17.5 miles away in Kearny Mesa where it is stored and centrifuged. This final solid product is used in landfills to digest organic material and can help add an extra third of a lifetime to landfills.
   The California Department of Health Services removed toxic seep as it emerged every year between 1987 and 1991. In 1992, the EPA began its clean up by temporarily evacuating residents from homes housing them in government funded hotels and rental units. A contractor excavated the surface waste seeps and buried wastes, removing about 45,000 cubic yards of hazardous waste and backfilling homes with clean material and replaced with further landscaping and improvements.
  
  The EPA took the site off the NPL in 2004 after cleanup was completed and soil tests found the worst contamination had been removed.
  
  Section::::History.:Health Concerns.
   Waste is placed in rooms underground that have been excavated within a thick salt formation (Salado and Castile Formations) where salt tectonics have been stable for more than 250 million years. Because of plasticity effects, salt and water will flow to any cracks that develop, a major reason why the area was chosen as a host medium for the WIPP project.
  
  Section::::History.:Addressing public concerns via the EEG.
   The site is being addressed through a long-term cleanup action. In 1986, U.S. EPA began an investigation into the nature and extent of contamination at the site. In 1989, the state became the lead agency for the investigation. The state has issued areas of concern for landfill gases and groundwater. Additional measures are needed concerning the landfill to assure long-term protection of human health and the environment. Currently, pumping related to a nearby quarry operation is acting as an interim groundwater treatment system and is controlling human exposure to groundwater. When this pumping ceases, additional measures will also be needed to assure that human exposure to groundwater remains controlled and to protect the nearby river environment.
   Increasingly, there have been efforts to use technology to monitor areas prone to dumping. In Japan, a study used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map areas of dumping based on site characteristics.
  
  Another study used satellite images to detect possible illegal dumping sites. 
  
  Section::::Solutions.:Container deposit legislation.
   Section::::Case studies.:Manistique River, Michigan.
  
  In Manistique River, Michigan, PCB-contaminated sediments were capped with a 40mm thick plastic liner over an area of with varying depths of up to 15 ft.
  
  Section::::Case studies.:Sheboygan River, Wisconsin.
  
  In Sheboygan River, Wisconsin, PCB-contaminated sediments were capped with a sand layer and armor stone layer. This was done in shallow regions were direct placement was possible.
  
  Section::::Case studies.:Marathon Battery Remediation Project.
   2. The adverse impacts on the residents of the Relocation Area from fear stemming from uncertainty relative to health impacts, loss of property values, and psychological stress, are difficult to quantify but are very real considerations (7). These concerns have arisen in part from the visibility of an extremely large stockpile of highly contaminated soil and two excavations of similar magnitude (7). The excavations and stockpile are the result of the 1991-92 removal action in the immediate vicinity of the Relocation Area (7).
   Many projects have attempted to clean contaminated groundwater at the Arsenal. For example, DIMP (diisopropyl methyl phosphonate) was one of the main contaminants in the area. One monitoring project has demonstrated incremental improvements over time, and specifically measured 640 ppb in 1987 and 55 ppb in 1989, while a different off-post monitoring well measured 138 ppb in 1985, 105 ppb in 1987, 14 ppb in 1988, and 6.7ppb in 1989. While it is difficult to capture the societal cost to clean up the site, the list of actions dealing with groundwater contamination listed by Mears and Heise include:
   The surge in vessel traffic and cargo prompted increased environmental efforts by the port. In 2004, the Port of Long Beach reached compliance with an air pollution mandate by handling petroleum coke, one of the port's largest exports, in improved ways. By using enclosed conveyors and covered storage areas, the port reduced the amount of dust emitted by the petroleum coke by 5%, down 21% in 1997.
   Cultivated crops might be a problem near mines. Most crops can grow on weakly contaminated sites, but yield is generally lower than it would have been in regular growing conditions. Plants also tend to accumulate heavy metals in their aerian organs, possibly leading to human intake through fruits and vegetables. Regular consumption of contaminated crops might lead to health problems caused by long-term metal exposure. Cigarettes made from tobacco growing on contaminated sites might also possibly have adverse effects on human population, as tobacco tends to accumulate cadmium and zinc in its leaves.
  
  Section::::Erosion.:Terrestrial organisms.:Animals.
   Three California state agencies and three federal agencies have been overseeing a detailed investigation of environmental impacts from historical site operations since at least 1990. Concerns about the environmental impact of past disposal practices have inspired at least two lawsuits seeking payment from Boeing and several interest groups are actively involved with steering the ongoing environmental investigation.
   Between 1960 and 2000, refuse and a number of old cars were dumped in the California Valley area, much of it by local residents, posing serious environmental issues. In 2006, a combined effort by the California Highway Patrol, California Department of Motor Vehicles, San Luis Obispo County Code Enforcement, and local businesses worked together to remove abandoned vehicles and accumulated trash.
  
  Section::::Infrastructure.
   The injection of gases into the groundwater may also cause contamination to spread faster than normal depending on the site's hydrogeology. In these cases, injections downgradient of groundwater flow may provide adequate microbial destruction of contaminants prior to exposure to surface waters or drinking water supply wells.
  
  Migration of metal contaminants must also be considered whenever modifying subsurface oxidation-reduction potential. Certain metals are more soluble in oxidizing environments while others are more mobile in reducing environments.
  
  Section::::Technologies.:Soil vapor extraction.
  
presuppositions: It is feasible to move trash to the desert. Move trash to the desert would be practical.
corrections: It is not practical to move tons of trash to a disposable site. Moving trash to the desert is not practical due to transportation costs.
raw_presuppositions: It is feasible to move trash to the desert. Move trash to the desert would be practical. It is feasible to move trash to the desert.
raw_corrections: It is not practical to move tons of trash to a disposable site. Moving trash to the desert is not practical due to transportation costs. It is not practical to move tons of trash to a disposable site.