Soil contamination occurs when hazardous substances, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and petroleum, mix and leach into the soil. When this happens, the soil becomes unhealthy for plants and, in some cases, hazardous to human health. It can take several forms, depending on the source and type of pollutant and the location of the soil.
Dirty dirt, or contaminated soil, is a challenge that environmental scientists and engineers have been struggling with for decades. Dirty dirt soil remediation refers to the process of cleaning up contaminated soil, and there are several techniques that have proven to be effective.
Excavation
This method of dirty dirt soil remediation is useful when the contamination is shallow, and it is feasible and safe to remove the soil. During excavation, contaminated soil is dug up, loaded onto trucks, and transported to an authorized facility for disposal.
This remediation method can be costly and time-consuming. This method may also cause secondary contamination to occur, such as spreading the pollution to the air during transportation to the waste facility. Therefore, this method is best used when other methods are not a viable option.
Bioremediation
This is a cost-effective and efficient method that utilizes living organisms such as plants, fungi, and bacteria to remove pollutants from the soil. The microorganisms break down and transform the contaminants into less harmful by products. In some cases, specially developed microbes are utilized in the remediation process.
Bioremediation is highly effective in treating organic contaminants in soil such as petroleum hydrocarbons. This method is particularly useful for large areas of contamination.
Thermal Desorption
This is a method, performed by a company such as Earth Services & Abatement, Inc., that entails heating the contaminated soil to vaporize the pollutants and leave behind clean soil. The vaporized contaminants are then treated using other methods or captured and destroyed.
Thermal desorption is a fast and efficient method that can treat a wide range of contaminants in soil. However, it requires a lot of energy to heat the soil and may not be suitable for areas with sensitive ecosystems.
