DNAPL Removal Key to Accelerated, Less Expensive Remediation

Pools of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the subsurface can serve as a long-term source for dissolved contaminant plumes at many contamination sites. Debates regarding whether partial removal of these pools contributes to effective cleanup technology were calmed when Toxics Program scientists, in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, demonstrated that the near-complete removal of a DNAPL pool in the subsurface by engineered methods facilitated the rapid collapse of a chlorinated solvent plume at the Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia. The removal was achieved by in situ chemical oxidation with Fenton's reagent that was injected into the subsurface through an array of injection wells. The removal of the DNAPL at Kings Bay has lowered the estimated time for site remediation from 35 years or more (with the previous pump-and-treat system) to approximately 5 years, and lowered the estimated remediation costs from $30 million to $5 million. Similar cost savings could be realized at other sites contaminated with chlorinated solvents, a common DNAPL, using the same approach to removing DNAPL that is acting as a long-term source of contamination.

More Information

• Solvent Plume Source Removal Test (Fenton's Reagent), Project description and information
• Processes that Control the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents -- Microbial Degradation of Chloroethenes in Ground Water Systems
  
• Federal Remediation Technologies Round Table Report -- Abstracts of Remediation Case Studies Volume 4 (2000) EPA 542-R-00-006
  
• Remediation Technologies: Fenton's Reagent, U.S. Navy
  
• Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, Information

Other Chlorinated Solvent Remediation Related Activates

• Chlorinated Benzene Plume Source Area Containment Test (Oxygen-Release Compound Injection)
• Can Trees Clean Up Ground Water? Phytoremediation of Trichloroethene-Contaminated Ground Water at Air Force Plant 4, Fort Worth, Texas
• Phytoremediation in the Desert?
• Natural Attenuation of Wood Preservatives in Ground Water

Related Headlines

• New Report Presents a Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Monitored Natural Attenuation
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• New Version of NAS (Natural Attenuation Software) Available
• USGS Patents Bioreactors that Treat Nitrate and Methyl Bromide Contamination
• Software Provides Estimates of How Long it Will Take for Remediation Efforts to Achieve Their Goals
• Using Oxygen to Clean Up Ground-Water Contamination
• SERDP Invests in Technologies Developed by the Toxics Program
• Handbook on Permeable Reactive Barriers Published - The handbook gives guidance on the use of permeable reactive barriers to remediate radionuclide, trace metal, and nutrient contamination.
• What Controls the Migration of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Rock?

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