Encapsulation as a passive soil remediation alternative
- Matrix Environmental and Geotechnical Services, Florham Park, NJ (United States)
By implementing institutional and engineering controls, a passive, cost-effective, remedial alternative has allowed redevelopment of an abandoned, industrial, site located in Newark, New Jersey. Soil and groundwater contaminants at the site include volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds and metals. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recognized the impracticality of requiring an aggressive, localized, remedial action to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater in a region that has historically used fill to create land along the state`s waterways. By placing an institutional control, known as a Declaration of Environmental Restriction (DER), on the property, the NJDEP allowed contaminated fill to remain on site and approved encapsulation as the remedial action for the soil. The approved engineering control, encapsulation, consisted of the design and placement of an asphalt pavement cap that covered the affected areas of concern. The asphalt pavement cap prevents direct human contact to contaminated soil and leaching of contaminants in the soil into the groundwater by surface water infiltration. This paper focuses on the subsurface soil investigation and establishment of the DER. The benefits of this remedial alternative are: (1) the urban redevelopment of contaminated land while simultaneously ensuring protection to human health and the environment; (2) costs savings of not having to clean up a regional problem as if it were local; and (3) the facilitation of a property transfer transaction without the risk of future liability for an historical problem.
- OSTI ID:
- 488822
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9610152--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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