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Characterizing soils contaminated with heavy metals: A uranium contamination case study
Author(s) -
Tidwell Vincent C.,
Morris David E.,
Cunnane James C.,
Lee S. Y.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
remediation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1520-6831
pISSN - 1051-5658
DOI - 10.1002/rem.3440060208
Subject(s) - environmental remediation , contamination , environmental science , soil water , soil contamination , uranium , hazardous waste , soil remediation , characterization (materials science) , environmental chemistry , waste management , chemistry , soil science , materials science , nanotechnology , engineering , ecology , metallurgy , biology
Abstract To stem rising remediation costs for soils contaminated with hazardous metals, increased emphasis is being placed on the development of in‐situ and ex‐situ treatment technologies. Often, a lack of basic information on the chemical and physical characteristics of the soil and contaminants hampers treatability studies used to design these technologies. This article proposes and demonstrates a characterization program to meet these information needs, employing standard analytical techniques coupled with advanced spectroscopy and microscopy techniques. To support treatments involving physical separation strategies, the program uses standard analytical techniques to characterize the soil and the association of contaminants with different soil fractions (e.g., size and density fractions). Where chemical treatments are required, spectroscopy and microscopy methods are employed to yield quantitative information on the oxidation state and speciation of the contaminant. Examples demonstrate the use of measured soil and contaminant characteristics in the screening of alternative treatment technologies and in the selection of soils for use in treatability studies. Also demonstrated is the use of these characterization tools in the design and optimization of treatment strategies and in support of risk assessment determinations.