Major approaches to site remediation vary depending on the released substance’s physical and chemical properties, the release medium (air, soil, sediment, groundwater, or surface water), and situation- and site-specific factors. General options include:88
- Destruction or alteration of contaminants. Thermal, biological, physical, and chemical treatment methods/destruction technologies can be applied to contaminated media at the release site (in situ) or following removal from the site (ex situ).
- Extraction or separation of contaminants from environmental media. Treatment technologies can be used to extract and separate contaminants from soil and groundwater; the removal of chemicals from air is possible, although applications are limited.
- Immobilization of contaminants. Immobilization technologies include stabilization/solidification and containment technologies (e.g., booms, neutralizers, sorbents, etc. as described in KPF 4, Control the Spread of Contamination) that reduce the ability of the released substance to move through soil, groundwater, or surface water.
Aspects such as the availability, reliability, costs, and time needed differ for each remediation approach. More details on remediation options are provided in Appendix H.
Footnotes
88. Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable. (2002, January). Section 3 Treatment Perspectives. Remediation Technologies Screening Matrix and Reference Guide, Version 4.0. ; Center for Public Environmental Oversight. (2010). Technology Tree: Tech Chart.