Rational Selection of Tailored Amendment Mixtures and Composites for In Situ Remediation of Contaminated Sediments
Investigators: Upal Ghosh, Todd Bridges, Victor Magar
Duration: 2006-2008
Funding agency: Strategic Environmental Research and Developmental Program (DoD)

Summary. This research is focused on advancing in-situ remediation of contaminated sediments by developing techniques that are less energy-intensive, less expensive, and less disruptive of the environment than conventional technologies, can reduce ecosystem exposure, and are defensible through well grounded scientific understanding of contaminant transport behavior in field conditions. Recent findings in the sorption and bioavailability of metal and organic contaminants in sediments need to be synthesized into a rational framework before these technologies can be applied to the majority of impacted sediment sites where multiple contaminants exist. An important need in the field of in situ sediment remediation therefore, is the development of new amendments and an improved scientific understanding of modes of action. The greatest challenge lies in being able to develop a rational framework to compare and contrast different sorbents, either alone or in formulated combinations, to achieve in situ clean up goals for multiple contaminants of concern in a given site.