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Fundamentals of Foundation Engineering and their Applications 2e
2: SOIL AND GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION AND REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES – AN INTRODUCTION TO GEOENVIRONMETAL ENGINEERING

2: SOIL AND GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION AND REMEDIATION TECHNIQUES – AN INTRODUCTION TO GEOENVIRONMETAL ENGINEERING

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Page ID: 123381

George Kouretzis
The University of Newcastle, Australia via Council of Australian University Librarians Initiative

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2.1: Introduction to Part 2
This page discusses Geoenvironmental Engineering, which applies geotechnical methods to protect the geoenvironment—topsoil, subsoil, and groundwater—from contamination. It aims to enhance environmental quality and address waste management and restoration challenges. The field involves measuring soil contaminants, mitigating diffusion, and designing groundwater protection strategies while emphasizing pollution containment and remediation, along with risk assessment and management practices.
2.2: Characteristic cases studies of soil and groundwater contamination
This page discusses the impact of civil engineering on the geoenvironment, highlighting historical contamination cases from the 1970s USA, such as Love Canal and Hinkley, which resulted in health crises and legal actions. It also mentions Australia's regulatory framework for contaminated sites under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997, addressing nearly 300 reported sites and ongoing remediation efforts.
2.3: Management framework for contaminated land in Australia
This page outlines the regulatory framework for contaminated land management in Australia, primarily governed by the EPA under the Contaminated Land Management Act 1997 for significant contamination. Local councils also address minor contamination through planning policies, notably the State Environmental Planning Policy No. 55, which is applicable to low-risk contaminated sites based on their current or approved usage.
2.4: Sources of geoenvironment contamination
This page discusses the causes of groundwater and subsoil contamination, highlighting both natural processes (like rock salt dissolution and evaporation) and human activities (such as poor waste management, industrial practices, sewage disposal, and agricultural chemicals). It emphasizes that both natural and anthropogenic factors significantly contribute to the contamination of groundwater.
2.5: Types of waste and pollutants and tolerable concentration levels
This page discusses waste as a significant contributor to geoenvironmental contamination, identifying various types including mining, radioactive, and domestic sewage waste. It classifies soil waste into four categories: inorganic, water-soluble organic, non-water-soluble organic, and viscous fluid/solid waste.
2.6: Geotechnical investigations in contaminated sites
This page discusses the importance of safety procedures and waste disposal in geotechnical investigations of potentially contaminated sites. It outlines indicators of contamination, preliminary and detailed testing methods for identifying pollutants, and the role of hydrogeological investigations in analyzing groundwater movement. Monitoring wells are utilized to assess water quality, while collected data aids in modeling contamination behavior and evaluating mitigation strategies.
2.7: Mechanisms of contaminants transport through soil
This page explores how pollutants move through the vadose zone and aquifer, detailing three main transport mechanisms: advection (movement with groundwater flow), diffusion (molecular movement from high to low concentrations), and dispersion (variations in water velocity in soil). It emphasizes the complex interactions of these mechanisms and their dependence on factors such as hydraulic gradient, soil characteristics, and biological or chemical processes that may mitigate pollution.
2.8: Contamination control and remediation methods
This page discusses various methods for soil and groundwater decontamination, including chemical agents to extract pollutants, thermal treatment to destroy them, and excavation for removal. It highlights soil washing using high-pressure acids or detergents, which requires significant water and careful management to prevent aquifer contamination. Each method is tailored to the pollutant type and environmental conditions, balancing effectiveness with cost and environmental impact.
2.9: Design of a pump-and-treat installation
This page analyzes the Finite Element method (PLAXIS) for assessing the pumping capacity required for dewatering a shaft, focusing on groundwater extraction. It examines a silty sand layer above impermeable clay under steady-state flow conditions, highlighting the necessary pump capacity of 23.8 m³/day. The analysis warns of seepage failure risks due to inadequate design and suggests that modifying the sheet pile wall length can lower both the pump capacity and hydraulic gradient risks.
2.10: Design of a pollutant containment installation
This page discusses the design and analysis of a dewatering system with impermeable barriers to prevent groundwater contamination. Utilizing the Finite Element method, it evaluates the system's capability to lower the water table by 2 m, focusing on conditions with sheet piles and dewatering wells.
2.11: References
This page highlights key references on environmental assessment and geotechnical investigations, encompassing Canadian and Australian guidelines for contaminated site assessments, U.S. Federal Highway Administration publications on subsurface investigations, and a book on geoenvironmental engineering. The sources, dated from 1994 to 2002, reflect continuous advancement in the field of environmental assessment practices.
2.12: Example 2.1
This page discusses heavy metal contamination from industrial activities along a river, highlighting 250 mm of sediment contamination totaling 150,000 m3. Five remediation methods were evaluated based on environmental, technical, and economic criteria, with costs between $5 million and $24 million. Encapsulation was identified as the most effective remediation option, followed by land storage and on-site stabilization according to project-specific scoring.

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