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SOLIDIFICATION/STABILIZATION: IS IT ALWAYS APPROPRIATE?
Citation:
Wiles, C. AND E. Barth. SOLIDIFICATION/STABILIZATION: IS IT ALWAYS APPROPRIATE? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-92/205 (NTIS PB92191188).
Description:
The increasing use of solidification/stabilization (S/S) technologies in the United States, especially for remediation of sites under the Superfund program, has raised several questions about the overall appropriateness of S/S. or many types of hazardous waste, notably for heavy metals, S/S usually gives excellent results for long-term immobilization, as measured by existing physical and chemical protocols. owever, results of several studies, as well as data from remediation of several Superfund sites, have raised concerns about whether S/S is a valid technology for treating organic-bearing wastes. ven when applied to heavy metals, S/S requires careful choice of proper binders (recognizing the amphoteric ehavior of certain metals) and good quality control throughout the process. ack of good investigative procedures has diminished the value of data for evaluating S/S for some metals. urthermore, studies also provide evidence that tests other than the regulatory extraction tests [for example, toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP)] will be required to evaluate the effectiveness of S/S, especially when applied to organic wastes. uggestions are offered for improving treatability studies used for evaluating S/S applied to selected metals. pproaches are also provided for determining the appropriateness of S/S applied to organic contaminants. his paper will focus on evaluating chemical leaching behavior as a measure of S/S effectiveness. ecision tree is presented for determining the suitability of S/S treatment for wastes containing organic contaminants, which can be more difficult than metals to immobilize.