ABSTRACT:

An overview of geoenvironmental engineering for in situ remediation of contaminated land is presented. After a brief introduction, an historical perspective of remediation in the United States and the United Kingdom is presented as background for the remainder of the presentation, that includes descriptions of the remediation process, including assessment, some technological considerations for remediation, and the existing or potential technologies that may be used for remediation of contaminated land. Emphasis is placed on in situ technologies that are separated into four categories:

  1. passive containment,

  2. active containment,

  3. passive treatment, and

  4. active treatment.

Finally, the role of geotechnical engineering in geoenvironmental engineering for in situ remediation of contaminated land is discussed.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Remediation, also commonly referred to as reclamation, of contaminated land may be defined as the process of restoring land that has been contaminated with pollutants from some activity. Although the words "remediation" and "reclamation" often are used interchangeably in terms of environmental contamination, it may be argued that the two words have slightly different meanings. The word "remediation" is derived from the verb, "remedy", which means "…to restore to the natural or proper condition" (Random House Dictionary). The word "reclamation" is defined as "…the act or process of reclaiming", and the verb "reclaim" may be defined alternatively as "…to bring (wild, waste, or marshy land) into a condition for cultivation or other use", or "…to recover (substances) in a pure or usable form from refuse, discarded articles, etc." (Random House Dictionary). Another distinction between the words "remediation" and "reclamation" is that the word "remedy" is used frequently in both medicine (e.g., something such as a medicine or therapy that relieves pain or cures a disease) and law (e.g., a legal means of preventing or correcting a wrong or enforcing a right).

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