On 22 April this year, a group of about thirty students, lecturers and accompanying teachers on the specialist degree course in Applied Earth Sciences from the University of Turin visited the non-hazardous special waste disposal plant in Cascina Borio.
This educational tour was organised by Professor Domenico De Luca, who runs the Applied Hydrogeology course, in order to show the students a state-of-the-art waste disposal plant, and to explain the features of its construction, the hydrogeological issues tackled during its construction, and its environmental utility.
The specialist degree course in Applied Earth Sciences trains students on how to address situations such as the compatibility of human activities with the geological environment, the extraction and proper use of geo-resources, the creation of major works and the prevention of natural risks. Within this framework, the Hydrogeology course also prepares students to understand the laws regulating groundwater flows, and to know how to interpret chemical analysis of groundwater and piezometric level measurements.
This educational group was welcomed by the plant’s technical director Michele Bellandi who, together with Professor De Luca, explained the aspects of the site’s construction and which measuring methodologies were used on underground aquifers to collect the data required to develop the project in complete safety. The presence along the plant’s perimeter of piezometers to monitor the water circulation of the surface aquifer helped simulate sampling for the students and explain through a real case study how periodic monitoring campaigns of groundwater are carried out, which are required to certify the depth of the aquifer and the quality of the water.
