Location of Sites for Hazardous Waste Repositories in Iowa:Phase 1: Geological Reconnaissance Mapping Progress Report 1, January 1980

Hazardous wastes are those wastes or combination of wastes that, because of its quantity, concentration, biological degradation, leaching from precipitate, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics, has either of the following effects: 1. Causes, or significantly contributes to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious, irreversible, or incapacitating reversible illness. 2. Poses a substantial danger to human health or the environment.1 To safely re-posit hazardous wastes two fundamental site requirements must be satisfied: 1. Isolation of the wastes from the environment, especially from present or potential future surface or groundwater resources. 2. A secure location protected from vandalism or other human interaction. Other additional factors that are important in the choice of a repository site and its engineering include: 1. A site location with minimum susceptibility to violation of its integrity by catastrophic geological processes. 2. Some inherent ability of the site materials to detoxify or otherwise neutralize the adverse properties of the wastes. 3. The ability to recover selected wastes for reprocessing or further detoxification. 4. Proximity of the site to a transportation system adequate to allow safe movement of the wastes from their points of origin