NAUMAN IJAZ 2011-MS-CEG-20

CONTAMINATED SOIL IN CONCERN WITH GEO-ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

INTRODUCTION MAIN CAUSES EFFECTS OF CONTAMINATED SOIL

Soil contamination is the occurrence of pollutants in soil above a certain level causing a deterioration or loss of one or more soil functions. Also, Soil Contamination can be considered as the presence of man-made chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination typically arises from the rupture of underground storage tanks, application of pesticides, percolation of contaminated surface water to subsurface strata, leaching of wastes from landfills or direct discharge of industrial wastes to the soil. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead and other heavy metals. The occurrence of this phenomenon is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical usage.

Stabilisation/Solidification (S/S) is a civil engineering based technique used to remediate contaminated soil. It involves mixing the soil with binder to improve the engineering properties and simultaneously immobilise contaminants. It has the particular advantage of being a practical technology, which uses conventional civil engineering techniques. S/S has a proven track record for treating a broad range of contaminants and lime plays a key role in this technology.

S/S is a civil engineering based remediation technique that involves the controlled addition and mixing of hydraulic binders with contaminated soil to form a new solid, which can range from a granular material to a monolith. Within this solid, contaminants are rendered immobile and become virtually non-leachable. Although not removed, the contaminants are prevented from being available to cause harm. Two simultaneous processes occur during S/S treatment: Stabilisation - involves adding reagents to a contaminated material to produce more chemically stable constituents; Solidification involves adding reagents to contaminated material to impart physical/dimensional stability to contain contaminants in a solid product and reduce access by external agents (air, rainfall).

A wide range of immobilisation mechanisms can occur during S/S, depending on the nature of the contaminant, the soil and the reagents added. These mechanisms include chemical reactions between the reagent and contaminant to change the nature or mobility of the contaminant or involve physical containment of the contaminant. The principle reagents or binders, used separately or in combination, are lime, cement, ground granulated blastfurnace slag (ggbs) and fly ash. Other minor additives or admixtures may be included in the binder to augment performance and fine-tune the treatment efficiency.