ABSTRACT
Estimates of the transport and fate of contaminants of interest at a waste-disposal facility provide guidelines for selecting vadose zone monitoring devices. For example, if such contaminants are nonpolar organic compounds, they will probably be strongly sorbed by the near-surface soils, and transport may therefore be limited. Accordingly, shallow monitoring units may suffice if other factors such as preferential flow are not important. However, highly soluble and mobile contaminants may require a full-scale vadose zone monitoring system. Estimates of the physical/chemical properties of chemicals and of the vadose zone are also required when modeling fate and transport in the subsurface.
