Soils and sediments may become contaminated by diesel, petroleum, BTEX, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other volatile and semi volatile organic compounds. Sediment remediation is the process of neutralizing contaminants and restoring environments to their pre-contamination condition. There is a variety of treatment options available and the choice of which one to use depends on the nature of the contaminant and on the time and money that are available for the procedure.
When the sediments and soils beneath aquatic environments such as harbors and rivers becomes contaminated, their recreational and navigational use can be seriously compromised. By 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had identified approximately 12 dozen sites that needed attention. Of these, nearly half (60) were deemed sufficiently important to merit tracking at the national level; others were considered suitable for attention at the local level.
There are three major approaches to managing contaminated sediment. These are dredging, monitored natural recovery and in situ capping. Among the major sources of soil contamination are mining, industrial accidents. In addition to the contaminants listed above, others include pesticides (DDT), Phthalate Esters, metals (lead and mercury), organometals, cyanide, Mononuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MAHs) and chlorinated hydrocarbons (PCBs).
Some of these chemicals either do not dissolve or they only partially dissolve in water and end up sinking into the sediments of aquatic environments. This results in large amounts of contaminants that cannot be detected in the water column. The size and shape of particles, the ecology of benthic organisms and their organic content all contribute to the accumulation of contaminated sediments over time.
When a government agency such as a land remediation agency identifies an area to be decontaminated, or remediated, imminent action is arequired to protect the environment, not to mention human health. This process is subject to regulatory oversight. In the USA, this is the purview of the EPA, Region Nine.
Nanotechnology, the process of using particles between 1 and 100 nanometers, is becoming more and more important in aquatic soil remediation. Their high surface area per unit mass makes them extremely reactive; their miniscule size makes it easy for them to infiltrate micropores in the sediments, which gives them ready access to the target materials. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter.
During the nanoremediation process, a decontaminant on the nanoparticle scale comes into contact with a target contaminant in a detoxification reaction. To date, the global nanoremediation project has identified up to 70 sites around the world that require this type of treatment. Currently, nanorem treatment has been used to clean up groundwater projects, although research is being conducted into using it for wastewater treatment.
What makes nanoremediation fascinating is the scale of the contaminants being removed. It is easy to filter out particles on the micrometer level (one millionth of a meter); nanoparticles are more challenging. Onced the nanoremediation technology has been perfected, perhaps man can start developing technologies to tackle pico particles, which are one thousandth the size of a nanometer.
When the sediments and soils beneath aquatic environments such as harbors and rivers becomes contaminated, their recreational and navigational use can be seriously compromised. By 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had identified approximately 12 dozen sites that needed attention. Of these, nearly half (60) were deemed sufficiently important to merit tracking at the national level; others were considered suitable for attention at the local level.
There are three major approaches to managing contaminated sediment. These are dredging, monitored natural recovery and in situ capping. Among the major sources of soil contamination are mining, industrial accidents. In addition to the contaminants listed above, others include pesticides (DDT), Phthalate Esters, metals (lead and mercury), organometals, cyanide, Mononuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MAHs) and chlorinated hydrocarbons (PCBs).
Some of these chemicals either do not dissolve or they only partially dissolve in water and end up sinking into the sediments of aquatic environments. This results in large amounts of contaminants that cannot be detected in the water column. The size and shape of particles, the ecology of benthic organisms and their organic content all contribute to the accumulation of contaminated sediments over time.
When a government agency such as a land remediation agency identifies an area to be decontaminated, or remediated, imminent action is arequired to protect the environment, not to mention human health. This process is subject to regulatory oversight. In the USA, this is the purview of the EPA, Region Nine.
Nanotechnology, the process of using particles between 1 and 100 nanometers, is becoming more and more important in aquatic soil remediation. Their high surface area per unit mass makes them extremely reactive; their miniscule size makes it easy for them to infiltrate micropores in the sediments, which gives them ready access to the target materials. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter.
During the nanoremediation process, a decontaminant on the nanoparticle scale comes into contact with a target contaminant in a detoxification reaction. To date, the global nanoremediation project has identified up to 70 sites around the world that require this type of treatment. Currently, nanorem treatment has been used to clean up groundwater projects, although research is being conducted into using it for wastewater treatment.
What makes nanoremediation fascinating is the scale of the contaminants being removed. It is easy to filter out particles on the micrometer level (one millionth of a meter); nanoparticles are more challenging. Onced the nanoremediation technology has been perfected, perhaps man can start developing technologies to tackle pico particles, which are one thousandth the size of a nanometer.
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