| dc.description.abstract | Grand Cayman’s George Town Landfill [GTLF] is located approximately 1km from the coast, is surrounded by tidal canals, and is unlined, uncovered, and unenginered. The close proximity of GTLF to the coast and tidal canals, Grand Cayman’s geographic structure and the GTLF’s operational practices create concern that leachate is migrating into marine and coastal ecosystems, contaminating them. A desktop study was performed to determine if the GTLF is contaminating Grand Cayman’s ecosystems. First the geographic and operational vulnerabilities of the GTLF, which could lead to contamination, were studied and explained. Then, groundwater, surface water, marine water, tissue sample and sediment analyses were done to determine if contamination was actually occurring. Results indicate that there was some contamination of marine and coastal ecosystems surrounding the GTLF, however contamination was not at ecosystem threatening levels. It was recommended that Integrated Coastal Management be implemented to create an integrated management plan that will address the geographic and operational vulnerabilities that are aiding contamination. The management plan should be created with the goal of improving and protecting Grand Cayman’s ecosystem health, and improving waste management practices to make them more sustainable | en_US |
