Evidences of in Situ Remediation from Long Term Monitoring Data at a TCE-contaminated Site, Wonju, Korea

Abstract

The contamination of chlorinated ethenes at an industrial complex, Wonju, Korea, was examined based on sixteen rounds of groundwater quality data collected from 2009 to 2013. Remediation technologies such as soil vapor extraction, soil flushing, biostimulation, and pumping-and-treatment have been applied to eliminate the contaminant sources of trichloroethylene (TCE) and to prevent the migration of TCE plume from remediation target zones. At each remediation target zone, temporal monitoring data before and after the application of remediation techniques showed that the aqueous concentrations of TCE plume present at and around the main source areas decreased significantly as a result of remediation technologies. However, the TCE concentration of the plumes at the downstream area remained unchanged in response to the remediation action, but it showed a great fluctuation according to seasonal recharge variation during the monitoring period. Therefore, variations in the contaminant flux across three transects were analyzed. Prior to the remediation action, the concentration and mass discharges of TCE at the transects were affected by seasonal recharge variation and residual DNAPLs sources. After the remediation, the effect of remediation took place clearly at the transects. By tracing a time-series of plume evolution, a greater variation in the TCE concentrations was detected at the plumes near the source zones compared to the relatively stable plumes in the downstream. The difference in the temporal profiles of TCE concentrations between the plumes in the source zone and those in the downstream could have resulted from remedial actions taken at the source zones. This study demonstrates that long term monitoring data are useful in assessing the effectiveness of remediation practices.