Print this page Cleanup Methods for Contaminated Soil and Groundwater
Mark P. Rossow, PhD, PE Retired
Course Outline
This four-hour online course proceeds systematically through discussions of twenty-two different methods for cleaning contaminated soils and groundwater. Chemical treatments, heat treatments, soil removal, incineration, pump and treat, excavation, solidification and biologically based techniques are described using the same format.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will have gained the following specific knowledge and skills:
- Learning the goals of activated carbon treatment;
- Learning about air stripping;
- Being introduced to capping;
- Learning about the proper techniques of ecological revitalization;
- Understanding the principles of evapotranspiration covers;
- Understanding the need for excavation of contaminated soil;
- Becoming familiar with the process of fracturing for site cleanup;
- Learning the goals of greener cleanups;
- Selecting incineration when appropriate;
- Deciding when to apply in situ chemical oxidation;
- Learning about in situ chemical reduction;
- Being introduced to in situ thermal treatment;
- Learning about the proper techniques of monitored natural attenuation;
- Understanding the principles of permeable reactive barriers;
- Understanding the need for phytoremediation;
- Becoming familiar with the process of pump and treat;
- Learning the goals of soil vapor extraction and air sparging;
- Selecting solidification and stabilization when appropriate;
- Being introduced to thermal desorption;
- Deciding when to apply vapor intrusion mitigation; and
- Learning about vertical engineered barriers.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for civil, construction, environmental, and geotechnical engineers, and is especially useful for Remedial Project Managers and Community Involvement Coordinators who must explain complicated treatment technologies to the lay public.
Benefit to Attendees
An attendee of this course will be familiar with the range of options available for soil cleaning and will be able to discuss these options knowledgeably with persons specializing in each technique and with the lay public.
Course Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency uses a variety of methods to clean up contaminated soil at Superfund and other sites. This course discusses twenty-two of them. Not all methods can be used at all sites. This course provides general information that will enable an engineer to identify which particular methods are appropriate for a particular type of contaminated soil. The course will also enable the engineer to discuss soil cleansing knowledgeably with the public and with persons specializing in the application of individual methods.
Course Content
This course is based on a compilation of the EPA’s Technology Innovation and Field Services Division’s “A Citizen’s Guide Series to Cleanup Technologies”, published in 2012.
A Citizen’s Guide Series to Cleanup Technologies
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.
Course Summary
An extensive list of EPA-approved soil and groundwater cleansing techniques is presented. Each technique is described in terms of the actual physical process involved, the safety of that process, the time required to implement the process, and the justification for using the process.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:
http://cluin.com/products/citguide
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
