ABSTRACT
American Colloid Company is a specialty mineral manufacturer that supplies a wide array of industrial markets. The Environmental Products Division evolved to serve a growing need by industry, municipalities and commercial entities to control seepage from containment structures such as ponds, lagoons, landfills and tank farms. The chemical company requested that American Colloid Company set up a laboratory permeability column to simulate the landfill. The column was to be maintained for the active life of the landfill. A column was set up with the industrial waste sludge. The chapter discusses the long-term effectiveness of a contaminant-resistant treated bentonite/soil liner with an actual industrial waste as shown by the change in hydraulic conductivity. One long-term laboratory study has examined the compatibility of a soil liner with actual industrial waste. The ability of a native soil to serve as a hydraulic barrier is directly related to the particle size distribution of the soil.
