Soil washing treatability tests for pesticide‐contaminated soil

Abstract

AbstractThe 1987 Sand Creek Operable Unit 5 record of decision (ROD) identified soil washing as the selected technology to remediate soils contaminated with high levels of organochlorine pesticides, herbicides, and metals. Initial treatability tests conducted to assess the applicability of soil washing technology did not effectively evaluate the removal of the elevated contaminant concentrations that were found. To further evaluate the applicability of soil washing at this industrial site, a second more comprehensive pilot‐scale treatability test was conducted.Twenty‐three test runs were conducted over a two‐week period in late September 1992, using a pilot‐scale soil washing device called the volume reduction unit (VRU). The experimental design evaluated the effects of two wash temperatures, two pH levels, three surfactants, four surfactant concentrations, and two liquid‐to‐soil ratios on the contaminant removal efficiency of the soil washing process. Site soils from layers at three different depths were used in the study.Results from the pilot‐scale treatability test indicated that the VRU could achieve contaminant reduction efficiencies of 97 percent for heptachlor and greater than 91 percent for dieldrin in the uppermost contaminated soils (surface to 1‐ft. depth). Residual concentrations of heptachlor and dieldrin in the treated soil ranged from 50 ppm to less than 1.6 ppm, and 6.8 ppm to less than 1.6 ppm, respectively. However, the analytical method detection limit of 1.6 ppm was not low enough to provide residual concentration data at the risk‐based action levels of 0.55 ppm for heptachlor and 0.15 ppm for dieldrin.