Remediation for Soil Contamination

When cleanup is required for sites where toxic chemicals have leached into the ground, several methods of remediation may be employed. One method is to remove the soil and transport it to a hazardous waste treatment facility so that it can be treated to meet LDR program standards. Alternatively, the waste handler may install a cap made of asphalt or a different material over the site to completely contain the contaminated soil. In the case study that follows, the handlers used a cleanup method that involved a soil vapor extraction (SVE) system.

To understand how an SSVE system works, it is helpful to know a little about soil structure. When certain hazardous contaminants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), leach into the soil, they evaporate and form gases in the soil, called "soil gas." Soil gas occupies the spaces between the soil particles. The SVE system is designed to apply a vacuum to a mass of soil. This vacuum removes the soil gas and the toxic chemicals the gas contains. An SVE system only works for soil above the water table. (For further information about how SVE systems work, refer to "A Citizen's Guide to Soil Vapor Extraction and Air Sparging,".)

To learn more about RCRA visit our RCRA Hazardous Waste Safety Online Training web page.