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Explosive Success
By Deborah Moazen
While Milan residents and plant workers seem to take living with the potential dangers associated with the handling of explosive materials in stride, there is growing community concern about the effects of past waste disposal practices on the aquifer the town uses for drinking water. The U.S. Army has undertaken an exhaustive effort to discover the types of compounds affecting the groundwater quality and the extent of the resulting groundwater plumes. In an effort to reduce and contain the potentially explosive compounds in the groundwater, the U.S. Army has employed several conventional technologies, including engineering a clay cap over settling ponds, excavating and composting contaminated soils, and pumping and treating millions of gallons of water in three groundwater pump-and-treat facilities. In response to mounting public concern and in an effort to accelerate the clean-up, the Army wanted to do more. That’s when ARCADIS stepped up to the plate. Since ARCADIS had pioneered in-situ remedies during the last decade for groundwater clean-up, the company approached the Army with an innovative technological solution to the site’s problem. The company’s laboratory and bench-scale research suggested that, under the right conditions, explosive compounds in groundwater could be degraded to harmless end products by natural biological processes. Those “right conditions” included, among other things, a low-oxygen (anaerobic) environment enhanced with increased concentrations of total organic carbon in the groundwater. To further investigate, the Army funded ARCADIS in conducting the first in-situ field test of an Enhanced Anaerobic Explosive Treatment (EAET) process. Testing began in July 2003 by injecting a watery solution of molasses (an easily biodegradable carbon source) and a buffering agent into observations wells. The solution contained a tracer to monitor the degradation of the residual explosives; specifically, TNT, RDX, and HMX. By March 2004, concentrations of TNT and RDX in the injections wells had been reduced by greater than 98 percent. HMX was also substantially reduced. The success of the testing prompted the Army to request proposals to address all of the installation’s environmental issues. ARCADIS responded with its GRiP® remediation program, one of the company’s guaranteed solutions. ARCADIS has already begun remediation services at the plant using a highly effective technology. “We’re extremely grateful for the cooperation we have received from the Army, the MAAP employees, and the people of Milan. ARCADIS is pleased with the progress to date,” says Tushar Talele, an environmental scientist and project manager for ARCADIS. The solutions provided by ARCADIS, however, reach far beyond the munitions plant. The company is also working with the community to address the questions and concerns of its residents. Toward that end, the ARCADIS team, along with the town’s Restoration Advisory Board, is hosting quarterly public meetings. At the first meeting, in September 2004, more than 60 people engaged in lively and informative discussion. Attendance at the quarterly meetings is expected to grow, primarily as a result of the townspeople’s interest and the environment of sharing at the first meeting—the sharing of ideas and information; but also sharing barbecue and pecan pie. There’s nothing like hometown treats to make important meetings just a little more neighborly. |
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