Alternative Characterization Approaches in Europe for Chlorinated Contaminated Sites

The Regulation Outlining Criteria, Procedures and Modes for Remediation, Environmental Recovery, and Security Measures in Contaminated Sites, (D.M. 471/99), promulgated by the Italian Ministry of Environment in 1999, outlines the importance of an extensive and adequate initial characterization of pollution at contaminated sites. Battelle is performing cost-effective characterization campaigns that avoid excessive costs and provide reliable screening of the contamination, while reducing the number of samples to be analyzed. The Italian Decree compels the “Potential Polluters” to declare themselves to the Authority, perform characterization activities, and, if needed, implement a remediation program.

One such company contracted Battelle to perform a characterization and remediation program at a number of their Italian sites. The company commercializes chemical products for industrial uses such as TCE, PCE, and BTEX, all of which are considered serious concerns for human health related issues. Battelle developed a complete program including:

• Screening of contaminants in the subsoil;


• Installation of monitoring wells;


• Sampling of soil and groundwater;


• Laboratory analysis;


• Human health risk assessment and contaminants fate modeling; and
• Remediation.

The screening of contaminants in the subsoil has been performed using the diagraphy tool Geoprobe® Membrane Interface Probe (MIP) which generates information for the localization of volatile contaminants, evaluation of relative concentrations, and characterization of stratigraphy and lithology of the underground environment. MIP is capable of detecting both chlorinated and non-chlorinated volatile contaminants in saturated or unsaturated soils and gaseous, sorbed, dissolved, or free phase. This approach assisted with contamination source area identification and contributed to the production of a high quality analytical report for submission to the Italian authorities.

For the report, several maps were created from over 600 pieces of information in field data. The maps, created in 3D, helped locate monitoring wells and soil samples, which contributed to the identification of areas that were in need of remediation.

The qualitative results of the MIP have been confirmed by laboratory analysis with a high degree of correlation.