Sediments remediation

Similar to soil remediation, in situ control and excavation-and-treat methods can be applied to sediment remediation. 

Mirex is no longer manufactured, formulated, or used in the United States. Therefore, there is currently no occupational exposure to this chemical associated with its production or application as a pesticide. Current occupational exposure is most likely to occur for workers employed at waste disposal sites or those engaged in remediation activities including removal of soils and sediments contaminated with mirex. There is a slight possibility of exposure for workers involved in dredging activities (e.g., sediment remediation work performed by the Corps of Engineers). 

Zarull MA, Hartig JH, Maynard L (1999) Ecological benefits of contaminated sediment remediation in the Great Lakes basin. Sediment Priority Action Committee, Great Lakes Water Quality Board, International Joint Commission... 

N. Nestle, NMR studies of transport and remediation processes in soil and sediments, in Soil and Sediment Remediation, P. Lens, T. Grotenhuis and H. Tabak, eds, IWAP Publishing, London, (in press) 2005. 

Site-specific assessments of the in situ risks of sediment pollution in The Netherlands are carried out mainly in freshwater systems. The in situ BEBA is then part of a broader evaluation of the risks caused by sediment pollution, aimed at the question of whether the risks make sediment remediation necessary. For this evaluation, a tiered approach is followed ... 

New Bedford, MA 1994-1995 0.4-5.3, near harbor sediment remediation 0.1-8.2 background reference Vorhees et al. 1997... 

Vegter, J.J. (2004) Risk based land management status and perspectives for policy. In Grotenhuis, T. and Tabak, H. (eds) Soil and Sediment Remediation, P. Lens. 

Forstner, U. and Apitz, S. (2007) Sediment remediation US focus on capping and monitored natural recovery, J. Soils and Sediments, 1, pp. 351-358. 

US Environmental Protection Agency (2005) Contaminated sediment remediation guidance for hazardous waste sites, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), 9355.0-85, EPA-540-R-05-012, Washington, DC, USA. 

Sediment remediation methods can be subdivided according to the mode of handling (e.g., in-place or excavation), or to the technologies used (containment or treatment). Important containment techniques include capping in situ and confined disposal. Biological processes may be applied with in-place treatment. Excavated sediments - apart from physical separation -can be treated to immobilize pollutants, most of which are metals (Table 8.2). 

Tab. 8.3 Selected options for in-situ sediment remediation (after Joziasse and Van der Gun 2000)...

As far as electrokinetic sediment remediation is concerned, some authors underscore that unenhanced electrokinetics can hardly result in significant mobilization of heavy metals, mainly due to the more complex chemical composition of sediments, higher buffering capacity, and different metal speciation as compared to soils. 

United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (2005). Contaminated Sediment Remediation—Guidance for Hazardous Waste Sites. Report EPA-540-R-05-012. 

In this chapter, field study experiences with an alternative sediment remediation technology known as electrochemical geo-oxidation (ECGO) are presented. The chapter provides conceptual, technological, and operational context for ECGO, focusing on in situ and ex situ field applications of the technology in Duluth, Minnesota, USA, from 2002 to 2007, and on a 20 ex situ application in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Alternative 2 can be further broken down into active decontamination techniques and into more passive techniques, such as composting and phytoremediation. Table 32.1 presents the typical sediment remediation techniques used. In situ treatment, however, is another option. 

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