Evaluation of Contaminant Concentrations in Wet and Dry Seasons during Pump-and-Treat Pilot Tests

Abstract

This study was performed to examine use of the pump-and-treat method for remediation of TCE, CF and CT in groundwater contaminated by DNAPL. The Woosan industrial complex is located in Wonju, about 120 km east of Seoul, Korea. Two pumping wells (KDPW7 and KDPW8) and five monitoring wells (KDMW7, KDMW8, KDMW9, KDMW10, and SKW2) were installed for the test. An asphalt laboratory is a main source of the extensive subsurface contamination at this site. To evaluate change in the concentrations of TCE, CF, and CT in groundwater in the study area, three rounds of pump-and-treat pilot tests were performed (6 July to 6 August, 22 August to 6 September, and 19 September to 2 December in 2011). The groundwater levels and the concentrations of TCE, CF, and CT exhibited negative correlations in the wet season but positive correlations in the dry season, which suggests that the TCE concentrations were mainly controlled by dilution through rainfall during the wet season and by residual TCE, CF, and CT in the unsaturated zone during the dry season. These possibilities should be considered in the full-scale remediation plan.