Surface impoundment, remediation

The sources of contamination are usually those hazardous materials that are contained in drums, tanks, surface impoundments, waste piles, and landfills, as well as heavily contaminated media (such as soil) affected by the original leaking or spilling source. The purpose of defining sources of contamination is to help to identify the source location, potential releases, and engineering characteristics that are important in the evaluation of remedial actions, as well as waste characteristics, such as the type and quantity of contaminants that may be contained in or released to the environment, and the physical or chemical characteristics of the hazardous wastes present in the source. 

One of the major problems involved in the remediation of the Dioxin contaminated surface impoundment (lagoon) discussed earlier (1) was the treatment of the water to insure complete removal of any... 

During the 1970s and the early 1980s, toxic chemicals and other hazardous wastes were treated by land disposal or by incineration. The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) of 1984 to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) severely restricted disposal of wastes in untreated landfills, surface impoundments, and land treatment units. Additionally, negative public opinion was focused on the disproportionate risk borne by those living near incinerators and other hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities. Environmental laws passed in the 1970s clearly articulated public and congressional dissatisfaction with early site remedies that wholly consisted of containment, off-site disposal, and incineration. 

Table 8-3 presents the estimated cost for remediation of the 100-NR-l and lOO-NR-2 operable work units, which includes the remedial action and post-closure monitoring at the 1301-N LWDF, 1325-N LWDF, 1324-N surface impoundment, and 1324-NA percolation pond the RPP facilities at 100 N). 

Figure 14 Schematic diagram of a mine-waste impoundment with a combined remediation approach, including a cover to prevent O2 and water ingress, in situ mixing to geochemically stabilize waste, permeable reactive barrier in aquifer to treat subsurface drainage, and wetland for surface treatment of drainage.

Remedial investigation/feasibility studies being conducted at the 46 NPL sites where creosote has been found and at the numerous creosote-contaminated Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action sites should provide data on concentrations of the mixture in contaminated media in the vicinity of hazardous waste sites. For example, creosote constituents have been found in surface water impoundments and soil samples taken near wood treatment facility sites in Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, and Montana. 

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