Earthquake Ground Motions For Application In Landfill Design

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently established revised<br>minimum national criteria for seismic design of municipal solid waste landfills.<br>Specifically, Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 258, requires<br>as of October 9, 1993 that all landfills be designed to withstand the impact of<br>earthquake ground motions for the case that the containment structures are<br>located in a seismic impact zone, In $258.14, a seismic impact zone is defined<br>as “an area with a 10% or greater probability that the maximum horizontal<br>acceleration in lithified earth material, expressed as a percentage of the<br>earth’s gravitational pull (g) will exceed O.lOg in 250 years.” Location of the<br>landfill site in a seismic impact zone can be established from a published<br>seismic hazard map, or through a site-specific seismic hazard assessment.