Overview of environmental investigations and remediations of leaks and spills in oil and gas fields
- Artesian Environmental Consultants, Mill Valley, CA (United States)
- Chapman, Inc., Freehold, NJ (United States)
Historic and current leaks and spills in oil and gas fields can involve a variety of hazardous compounds, can be located virtually anywhere on site, and may significantly degrade soils and groundwater quality. Environmental evaluation of historic and current leaks and spills in oil and gas fields occurs in the investigative stage, characterized by a site assessment and field evaluation. The site assessment includes a site survey, aerial photo interpretation, review of regulatory agency records, operators' records, previous work by consultants, and interviews with knowledgeable persons. The field evaluation, designed to examine the lateral and vertical extent of the spill or leak, could include a soil gas survey, cone penetrometer, trenching, and drilling. Using these techniques, collected soil or groundwater samples can be analyzed in a laboratory to differentiate the various hazardous compounds on-site. Once an environmental investigation has been performed to define the vertical and lateral extent of a spill and the potential pathways that the hazardous compound will move to expose a given population, then remediation options can be designed. Remedial programs for hazardous compounds commonly found in oil and gas fields include the following in-situ technologies: volatilization, biodegradation, leaching and chemical reaction, vitrification, passive remediation, and isolation/containment. Non-in-situ technologies include land farming, incineration, asphalt incorporation, solidification/stabilization, groundwater extraction and treatment, chemical extraction, and excavation and offsite disposal. Factors affecting remedial measures are cost of technology, time available to finish remediation, technical feasibility, regulatory acceptance, and accessibility and availability of space in the remediation area.
- OSTI ID:
- 5794579
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD; TRN: 92-007560
- Journal Information:
- AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
03 NATURAL GAS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
GAS SPILLS
BIODEGRADATION
LAND POLLUTION CONTROL
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL
OIL SPILLS
CLEANING
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
GROUND WATER
LAND POLLUTION
LEAKS
SOILS
WATER POLLUTION
WATER TREATMENT
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTROL
DECOMPOSITION
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION CONTROL
WATER
020900* - Petroleum- Environmental Aspects
030800 - Natural Gas- Environmental Aspects
540320 - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
540220 - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)