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PRB CHEMISTRY CASE STUDY: DENVER FEDERAL CENTER
Citation:
Wilkin*, R T. PRB CHEMISTRY CASE STUDY: DENVER FEDERAL CENTER. Presented at DOE-Sponsored Conference on PRB Performance, Salt Lake City, UT, 1/23/25/01.
Description:
The Denver Federal Center permeable reactive barrier is a funnel-and-gate system with four reactive gates, each separated by up to about 120 m of metal sheet pile. In this study, ground water sampling, core collection, and solid phase characterization studies were carried out in gates 1, 2, and 3. After five years of operation, gate 1 and gate 3 have been effective in significantly decreasing concentrations of TCE, 1,1,1-TCA, 1,1-DCE, and cis-DCE from influent ground water. A noticeable clean ground water front is identifiable in the downgradient aquifer near gate 1. The performance of gate 2 has been more difficult to assess, in part, because of an apparent source of residual bedrock TCE contamination located just downgradient of gate 2 and because of the large hydraulic head differential across the gate. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds in gate 2, especially 1,1-DCE, have shown increases with time.