Abstract
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has identified leaking underground storage tanks and buried mixed waste at numerous sites within the DOE complex. Preventing these wastes from entering the environment is a challenging task. One method of preventing waste migration is to isolate the contaminants using subsurface containment barriers. Isolation and containment can be accomplished by both in situ and ex situ methods. This report describes a novel in situ construction method of forming vertical containment barriers (slurry walls) using the SoilSaw{trademark} Barrier System. The SoilSaw{trademark} Barrier System is shown to be a feasible process for constructing subsurface vertical containment barriers to depths of fifty feet. The process is most efficient in sandy soil (including free flowing sand) with barrier construction rates of over 130 square feet per minute. Productivity diminishes to approximately 30 square feet per minute as soils become harder and more cohesive. The present hardware is designed to form a barrier of approximately 12 inch in width. Additional barrier widths can be constructed with this technology by application of wider jet heads. The requirement for a varied arrangement of barrier widths is an increase in hydraulic horse power and additional jet heads.
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