Selective remediation of contaminated sites using a two-level multiphase strategy and geostatistics.
Selective soil remediation aims to reduce costs by cleaning only the fraction of an exposure unit (EU) necessary to lower the average concentration below the regulatory threshold. This approach requires a prior stratification of each EU into smaller remediation units (RU) which are then selected according to various criteria. This paper presents a geostatistical framework to account for uncertainties attached to both RU and EU average concentrations in selective remediation. The selection of RUs is based on their impact on the postremediation probability for the EU average concentration to exceed the regulatory threshold, which is assessed using geostatistical stochastic simulation. Application of the technique to a set of 600 dioxin concentrations collected at Piazza Road EPA Superfund site in Missouri shows a substantial decrease in the number of RU remediated compared with single phase remediation. The lower remediation costs achieved by the new strategy are obtained to the detriment of a higher risk of false negatives, yet for this data set this risk remains below the 5% rate set by EPA region 7.
Saito
Hirotaka
H
Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2125, USA. hirotaka@engin.umich.edu
Goovaerts
Pierre
P
D003363:Cost Control; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005544:Forecasting; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000191:economics
D004147:Dioxins; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D012989:Soil Pollutants