You are the environmental manager of the site and there has been a release of VO

Question

You are the environmental manager of the site and there has been a release of VOC's and metals onto the ground surface and have migrated into the subsurface sediments and groundwater. The underlying aquifer is very close to the surface, only about 2 feet< and the groundwater generally flows toward the lake. From benchmarks, the elevation of the site is 20 feet above sea level and the lake is about 7 feet above sea level. This distance to the lake from the release is about 300 feet.

The subsurface sediments are: lacustrine (lake deposts) to a depth of 8 feet from the surface with a permeability of 10-3. Underlying the lake deposits is 10 feet of glacial till with a permeability of 10-2. Underlying the till is a thick layer of shale with a permeability of 10-8. Which acts as a impermeable barrier.

1. Develop a management plan to address this problem. What kind of questions might you ask in-order to identify a possible technology?

2. Is there any other information you can identify and provide that would be useful in solving this problem?

Explanation / Answer

Answer:

As the Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) are the main content of contamination of this place, therefore first task is to know the source of VOC around this area and try to stop generation of VOC. If total stop on generation could not be possible then try to lower down the affect by applying various techniques such as soil vapour extraction technique, activated carbon adsorption techniques etc. Another reliable and cost effective technique are Bio-treatment which can be one of the good option.

As shale is non permeable layer upto some extent, therefore it would oppose the concentration of VOC to further downward movement but only upto some extent. One another important task is to know the number of population around this area and consumption of affected aquifer.

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