In-situ treatment technologies have been improving and expanding rapidly over recent years. Technologies are now available for the in-situ remediation of a wide range of contaminants in soil and groundwater. Hopefully there is one (or many) which can be used to treat your site.
You are going to have to ask an expert if your contamination can be treated as there is too much variability in contaminants and site scenrios to be able to explain here. A general guide is that organic contaminants (fuels, solvents, etc) are usually treatable in-situ, while most inorganic contaminants (metals etc) are not. If the contaminated materials can be accessed with an excavator or a drilling rig, then it is possible to apply an in-situ treatment, assuming that an appropriate treatment is available. I have always assumed that contamination must be accessible with a drill rig, otherwise you wouldn’t know that the contamination was there.
In my opinion the main benefits of in-situ remediation are-
1. The avoidance of mass excavation works which are often expensive and high risk for health & safety aspects.
2. The potential for the treatment of typically inaccessible materials e.g. at significant depth and/or beneath physical structures.
3. The re-use of previously contaminated materials on site, which can be great for both the environment and for the all important bottom line (e.g. savings compared to dispsoal and re-instatement costs). Admitedly this applies for most on-site treatments, both in-situ and ex-situ.
4. The safety of keeping contaminated materials below ground level, therefore avoiding bringing them to the surface where there would be a significantly increased risk of contamination spreading.
Click here to read about a recent in-situ remediation project which involved the combined in-situ chemical oxidation & stabilisation of contaminated soil and groundwater.
As always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on e-mail or phone – 0800 0209 307.
2021
Soil remediation guide
Approaching soil remediation without any prior knowledge can be difficult and uncomfortable at times, especially when it can potentially be very costly. This free eBook will help you understand the whats, the whys and the hows of soil remediation in the simplest terms.