Contaminated Land

Assessment

Site Investigation & Characterization

Prof R.K. Srivastava

Deptt of Civil Engineering
MNNIT, Allahabad
What is Contaminated Land?
'Contaminated Land' defined as:
• "Land which appears to the Local Authority to be
in such a condition, by reason of substances in,
on, or under the land, that significant harm is
being caused, or there is a significant possibility
of such harm being caused; or pollution of
controlled waters is being, or is likely to be,
caused."
Definition of Harm
• 'Harm' means harm to the health of living organisms or
other interference with the ecological systems of which
they form part and, in the case of man, includes harm
to his property
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 SITE INVESTIGATION

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Site Investigations
Purpose:
– The overall purpose of site investigation is to
ensure that an appropriate information base
exists for assessing & managing the risks that
may be associated with contaminated land.
– It is properly designed & investigated by
appropriately trained personnel.
– It provides information that can be interpreted
by means of Risk Assessment i.e. it must
address all relevant potential hazards, pathways
& targets

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Site Investigations
Objectives:
– To characterize the Host medium
– To determine the nature & extent of the contamination
present (Hazard)
– To understand the nature of potential targets & risks
– To provide information for management & remediation
decisions.
If contamination is found to be present, there will be
further objectives i.e.
– To check the leakage of the contaminants into adjacent
land or surface water
– To determine the hydrogeology of the site & existence
of actual or potential groundwater pollution
All require a phased and iterative approach…….
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Site Investigations Cont.
Phases of Investigation

– Phase 1: Preliminary Investigation

(Desk Study)
– Phase 2: Exploratory Investigation
– Phase 3: Remediation Plan
– Phase 4: Validation Report

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Phase 1: Desk Top Study
• Historical Site Survey – check old maps,
reports etc

• ‘Walkover’ Assessment (site visits) to

identify hazards, receptors etc.

• Formulation of initial Conceptual Model

(preferably diagramatic for clarity)

• If shown to be necessary, move on to Phase

2
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Phase 2: Exploratory Investigation

• Intrusive sampling (boreholes, trenches,

sampling)
• Chemical analysis of contaminants
• Risk Assessment
• Further refinement of conceptual model
• If shown to be necessary, move on to Phase
3

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Phase 3: Remediation Plan

• Detail areas affected by contamination (zoning)

• Identify the safe removal, treatment and/or
isolation of contaminant to make ‘suitable for use’
• Includes Health and safety provisions

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Phase 4: Validation

• Confirm works undertaken on the ground to

complete satisfaction of all Agencies

• Provide evidence to support works - photographs,

off-site material transfer tickets etc.

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Investigation Techniques
• Wide range of Techniques available for
characterizing Contaminants, Geological &
Hydrological profile of a contaminated site.
• Different Techniques have different implications
for:
– The quality & interpretation of site investigation data
– Health & safety of personnel & the general public
– Environmental Quality
• Appropriate Techniques must be selected on
the basis of the objectives of the particular
phase of investigation, the existing site
conditions & contaminants present
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Sampling, Analysis & On-Site Testing
• Sampling, Analysis & On-Site Testing
Strategies must be developed for:
– Initial Exploratory Investigation
– Detailed Site Investigation
– Supplementary Investigation
– Validation Phase
– Monitoring Programmes

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Typical Issues – Sampling Strategies
Typical Issues to be addressed when developing
Sampling Strategies are:

• What type of samples should be collected?

• What sampling pattern should be employed?
• How many samples should be collected?
• How should samples be stored?
• How should samples be transported?

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Typical Issues – Analysis & On-site Testing
Typical Issues to be addressed when developing
Analysis & On-site Testing Strategies are:

• What type of Analysis/Testing should be

conducted?
• How should samples be prepared for Analysis?
• What levels of detection is required?
• How should the data be reported?

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Health & Safety Aspects
• On-site investigation work may expose personnel to
Health & Safety risks.
• Hazards may relate to substances (Solid, Liquid &
Gas) present at the site.
• The possible significance of Health & Safety issues
much greater for a contaminated site than for a
conventional Geotechnical investigation.
• The development of appropriate Health & Safety
provisions is an aspect of design of any investigation
of a contaminated site.
• Site reconnaissance or inspection should not be made
without proper consideration of the risk to personnel
involved.

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Quality Assurance & Control
• Quality Assurance (QA) & Quality Control (QC) is an
important means of confirming the validity of the
procedures & data used for risk assessment.
• QA/QC for Site Investigation should cover
– Compliance with all relevant legal requirements
– Review of documentary evidence during Desk Study
– Location & recording of observations during site
reconnaissance
– Collection, handling, storage & preparation of samples
– Methods of Analysis & Testing
– Reporting of Data
– Reporting procedures used in estimation of the Risks
– Input to & use of any models to aid interpretation of the data
– Participation by contracting parties in appropriate
accrediation schemes.

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• References:
– Assessment & Remediation of Contaminated
Sites by Krishna R. Reddy, Dept of Civil &
Materials Engg., Univ. of Illionis at Chicago, USA
• Proceedings of Indian Geotechnical Conference-2002
• Web Resources:
1. http://www.ocallaghanmoran.com/cont-land.html
2. http://www.voelckerconsultants.co.uk/contaminate
d land/contaminatedland.htm

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 SITE
CHARACTERIZATION
What is Site Characterization?
• The first step in a contaminated site
remediation Strategy.
• Consists of collection & assessment of data
representing contaminant type & distribution.
• The results of a site characterization form the
basis for decisions concerning requirements of
remedial action.
• Also, results serve as guide for design,
implementation, & monitoring of the remedial
system

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What is Site Characterization? Contd.

• Unique to each site; must be tailored to meet

site specific requirements
• An expensive & lengthy process
• Advantageous to follow an effective site
characterization strategy as shown in the
following flow chart

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General Approach for Contaminated Site Assessment & Remediation

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Effective site characterization
It includes collection of data pertaining to:
1. Site geologic data, incl. site stratigraphy &
important geologic formations,
2. Hydrogeologic data incl. major water bearing
formations & their hydraulic properties, &
3. Site contamination data, incl. type, concentration,
& distribution
• Additionally, surface conditions both at &
around the site must be taken into
consideration.
• Advantageous to follow phased approach;
minimize financial implication
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Phases of Characterization
• Phase 1: preliminary site assessment
– Definition of purpose & performance
– Preliminary Assessment:
• Geographical location, background information, regional
hydrogeologic information, & potential sources of
contamination
– Consists of two tasks:
• literature review, and
• site visit
– Review applicable regulations & meeting with
regulatory authorities

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Phases of Characterization (Contd..)

• Phase 2: Exploratory site investigation

– Based on results of Phase 1, purpose & scope need to be
developed
– Confirm detection of contamination during Phase 1
– Obtain further data necessary for design of a detailed site
investigation program.
– Detailed work plan required describing scope of field & lab
testing
– Work plan should provide details about:
• Sampling & testing procedures
• Sampling locations & frequency
• Quality Assurance/Quality control (QA/QC) plan
• Safety & Health (S&H) plan
• Work schedule &
• Cost Assessment

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Phases of Characterization (Contd..)

• Phase 3: Detailed Site Investigation

– To define geology, hydrogeology & contamination
profile
– Data obtained must be adequate to
• properly assess the risk posed at site
• Effective design of possible remedial systems
– Outline Detailed work plan:
• Field & lab testing program
• QA/QC & S&H plans
– Time frame
• Anywhere from a few weeks to few years depending on
size, accessibility & proposed future use of the site
– Costly due to time & effort required
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Phases of Characterization (Contd..)

• Phase 4:
– Needed if data collected in the first three phases is
determined to be inadequate
– Should be developed to gain additional information
– Additional phases must be performed until all
pertinent data has been collected.

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Phases of Characterization (Contd..)

• Site characterization may require regulatory

compliance and/or approval at different phases
of investigation
• Increasing use of innovative site
characterization techniques to collect relevant
data in an efficient & cost effective manner.
• Ex. Vehicle mounted direct push probes.

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Technology advances
• Probes are available for directly measuring
contaminant concentration s in-situ, in addition to
measuring standard stratigraphic data, to provide
flexible, real time analysis.
• Probes can also be configured to expedite the
collection of soil, ground water, & soil gas samples for
subsequent lab analysis
• Non-invasive geophysical techniques such as
– Ground penetrating radar (GPR)
– Cross-well radar
– Electrical resistance tomography
– Vertical induction profiling, &
– High resolution seismic reflection
Produce computer-generated images of sub-surface
geological conditions & are qualitative at its best.

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Risk (Impact) Assessment
• Risk assessment is performed after site contamination
has been confirmed by a thorough site
characterization
• Risk or Impact assessment is a systematic evaluation
used to determine the potential risk posed by the
detected contamination to human health & the
environment under the present & possible future
conditions.
• If the Risk assessment reveals that an unacceptable
risk exists due to contamination, a remedial strategy is
developed to assess the problem.
• If corrective action is deemed necessary, the risk
assessment will assist in the development of remedial
strategies & goals necessary to reduce the potential
risks posed at the site.
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Remedial Action
• No risks to human health or environment, no
remedial action is required.
• Monitoring of site to validate result of risk
assessment may be required in some cases.
• Corrective action is required when risk posed
by the site are unacceptable.
• When action is required, a remedial strategy
must be developed to ensure that the remedial
method complies with all
– Technological, economic & regulatory
considerations.
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Remedial Method
• It must be flexible in its application to ensure
that it is adaptable to site-specific soil &
groundwater characteristics
• It must be able to address site contamination
while offering compatibility with the geology &
hydrogeology of the site.
• Remediation methods:
– In-situ remediation
– Ex-situ remediation

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In-situ methods
• In-situ methods treat contaminated soils and/or
groundwater in place, eliminating the need to
excavate the contaminated soils & extract
ground water.
• Advantageous because of:
– Less expensive
– Less site disturbance
– Increased safety to both on-site workers & general
public within the vicinity of the remedial project.
• Requires thorough understanding of the
subsurface conditions
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Ex-situ methods
• Ex-situ methods are used to treat excavated
soils and/or extracted groundwater.
• Surface treatment may be performed either on-
site or off-site.
• Ex-situ treatment methods are attractive
because subsurface conditions need not be
considered.
• Also, easier control & monitoring during
remedial activity implementation.

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References
1. US Environmental Protection Agency (1989)
Risk Assessment guidance for Superfund
2. US EPA (1998 a) Remediation Case Studies:
In-situ Soil Treatment Technologies (Soil
Vapour Extraction, Thermal Processes); EPA
542-R-98-012, Federation Remediation
Technologies Round table Vol. 8, September.
3. US EPA (1998 b) Remediation Case Studies:
Groundwater Pump & Treat (Chlorinated
Solvents); EPA 542-R-98-013, Federation
Remediation Technologies Round table Vol.
9, September.
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THANK YOU
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION