The UK Environmental Agency held a seminar titled “Landfill Engineering for a Brighter Future” to launch nine new Technical Guidance documents, five of which involved geosynthetics: 1. Geosynthetic Clay Liners, 2. Geomembranes, 3. Geotextiles, 4. Geomembrane Protection using the Cylinder Test and 5. Geophysical Testing of liners. All of these documents will soon be available on the EA web site on www.geosynthetica.net. Additional documents in the development stage include Quality Assurance, Permeability Testing, Impermeable Pavements, and Leachate Management. Bernard Myles made a presentation on BSI/CEN/ISO standards and strongly emphasized the legal requirements for engineers to comply with specifications established by CEN for the different geosynthetics used in different applications. The days of individual unique specifications are gone. Ian Peggs commented on international experiences with geomembrane performance, demonstrated the importance of SCR and OIT measurements for HDPE specifications, and introduced the Material Durability Factor. David Hall outlined the capabilities of the LandSim Release 2 computer model for assessing leakage from a landfill and its subsequent characteristics. Release 2 is also capable of handling a double composite lining system. Neil Dixon and Russell Jones made a concise presentation on the intricacies of interface shear strength measurements and the lessons learned from a number of waste and soil slippages around the world. The importance of dealing with “during-construction” conditions as well as final operating conditions was emphasized. Approximately 100 people attended the seminar, organized by Rob Marshall, at the Manchester University Conference Centre.

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