Approaches to Selecting Sustainable Technologies for Remediation of Contaminated Sites: Case Studies

Abstract

Conventional remediation technologies are designed and implemented with the aim of achieving reduction of contaminant concentrations to meet the remedial goals in a cost-effective and timely manner. On the contrary, green and sustainable remediation (GSR) is a holistic approach to remediation which helps reduce the overall environmental impact by weighing out different technically feasible remedial options and selecting the one with minimal impact. This paper provides in-depth information pertaining to the application of GSR at three different contaminated sites in Illinois, USA. All the three sites had varied contaminant characteristics and site-specific conditions for which different remedial options were evaluated. Environmental site assessment reports were reviewed, and the final recommendations for remedial action (RA) were made based on conducting a qualitative as well as quantitative comparison between technically feasible remedial options using available tools to quantify the sustainability metrics, such as Green Remediation Evaluation Matrix (GREM), Illinois Greener Cleanups Matrix, Sustainable Remediation Technology (SRT^TM), and SiteWise^TM. Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) were developed by incorporating best management practices (BMPs), and the use of coupled-treatment techniques (remedial train) was proposed and designed for site-specific conditions along with detailed cost estimates and expected time frame to achieve the remedial goals. Long-term monitoring and maintenance plans were also included in the proposed RAPs.