Groundwater Contamination by Organic Pollutants

Abstract

• Sponsored by the Groundwater Quality Committee of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of ASCE.

  Groundwater Contamination by Organic Pollutants surveys important technologies used in the remediation of contaminated aquifers and provides a detailed analysis of each approach. Groundwater contamination by organic pollutants has become an important topic since the early 1980s as a result of the detection of large-scale contamination events. Since that time, substantial research efforts have been focused on developing new and innovative technologies and management approaches to clean up organic-contaminated sites. With the development of new and effective technologies, current research efforts are now more focused on risk assessment and management at contaminated sites and remediation in complex geological environments. Although research, technology transfer, and public education have been active links of the overall effort, still there is limited technology transfer and understanding of common remediation technologies and corresponding analysis among practitioners and managers.

  Techniques covered in this Manual include simple screening model and field application, pump-and-treat, bioremediation, steam flooding, and air sparging. Discussion of the benefits and limitations of each approach allows engineers to evaluate the applicability of the technology in actual scenarios. Models of multiphase flow systems that are commonly observed in organic-contaminated aquifers are presented, as well as previous modeling work to predict flow and transport in multiphase systems and currently available modeling software for remediation purposes.

  This Manual is intended to improve the understanding of both existing practitioners and beginning engineers, geologists water chemists, and biologists.