Grantee Research Project Results
1998 Progress Report: Natural Remediation of Contaminated Soil and Ground Water by Barometric Pumping
EPA Grant Number: R826162Title: Natural Remediation of Contaminated Soil and Ground Water by Barometric Pumping
Investigators: Smith, James A.
Institution: University of Virginia
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2001 (Extended to August 31, 2002)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999
Project Amount: $360,027
RFA: Exploratory Research - Environmental Engineering (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Safer Chemicals , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
The primary objective is to develop and test a vertical flux chamber to measure the flux of volatile organic vapors from the unsaturated zone to the atmosphere. The flux chamber can be used to monitor natural attenuation of pollutants in ground water and the unsaturated zone.Progress Summary:
The official start date of this project was January 1, 1998. However, due to the academic year schedule, I was unable to recruit students to work on the project until June-August, 1998. As such, most of the work began during the summer of 1998. We already have completed the development of our methodology to measure air permeability and effective diffusion coefficients on intact soil cores from Picatinny Arsenal. We completed our first air pressure sampling event at Picatinny Arsenal, where we measured air pressures at land surface and in the unsaturated zone as a function of depth and time. We have begun preliminary simulations of these data using our newly developed air-flow model.Future Activities:
In the upcoming year, we plan to conduct detailed measurements of air permeability and effective trichloroethene (TCE) vapor diffusion coefficient on intact soil cores from the site. We also are planning at least two additional field trips to collect additional air pressure data under natural conditions. We will begin development of our flux chamber design, and extend our unsaturated zone model to incorporate water-table fluctuations (in the flow model) and solute transport.Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 21 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
trichloroethene, natural attenuation, natural remediation, groundwater, chemical transport, restoration, cleanup, innovative technology, environmental chemistry, engineering, hydrology, measurement methods, EPA Region 2, northeast., Scientific Discipline, Water, Waste, Toxics, Remediation, Environmental Chemistry, 33/50, Contaminated Sediments, Groundwater remediation, VOCs, Hydrology, Environmental Engineering, contaminant transport, contaminated sediment, natural attenuation, benzene, Tetrachloroethylene, barometric pumping, carbon tetrachloride, chemical contaminants, soil sediment, groundwater plumes, verticle flux chamber, chemical transportProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.