Permeable Reactive Barrier for groundwater in situ passive treatment from HCH was built as a response to contamination problem in Wąwolnica Valley in Jaworzno.
The Jaworzno City is dealing with a problem of groundwater contaminations as results of the Chemical Plant Organika-Azot S.A. activity in years 1965-1989. The main waste collection place in Jaworzno is the former sand pit “Rudna Góra”. Part of the contaminants is being captured through a trench system constructed at the bottom of the former sand pit, but the groundwater is still being contaminated. The level of groundwater HCH contamination is being from several to hundreds of micrograms per liter.
Implementation and demonstration of the novel Permeable Reactive Barriertechnology (PRB) for testing the effectivity of removal process of HCH contaminations in groundwater downstream the Chemical Plant Organika-Azot S.A. was carried out during AMIIGA project in frame of Central Europe Programme in years 2016-2019.
The PRB is an innovative groundwater remediation method which allows to combine physical, chemical and biological in situ treatment of contaminated groundwater using different reactive materials, such as: iron chips, sand, peat, biochar and bacteria inoculum. The main goal of implementation was to test the effectiveness of the reactive barrier with microbiological deposit as an appropriate component used for bioremediation of groundwater environment contaminated with persistent organic compounds to eliminate migration of contaminants, as well as to identify possible difficulties and the potential impact of carried works on the health of residents and the environment.
Resources needed
Total investment cost of pilot implementation of the passive GW treatment bioreactive wall in the funnel & gate system applied in AMIIGA project in the frame of Central Europe Programme amounts to 53.536,70 EUR.
Evidence of success
The results of application of Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) for groundwater in situ passive HCH treatment in Jaworzno have allowed to calculate the sorption capacity of sand&peat bed and to replicate PRB in other HCH contaminated site (guideline for further use was elaborated). They enabled to evaluate efficiency of HCH removal, confirm the cost-effectiveness, applicability due to the use of common materials and was included in the train of techniques of LIFE POPWAT project (LIFE Programme).
Potential for learning or transfer
The novel technology of Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB), used in the AMIIGA project (Central Europe Programme, 2016-2019), has been applied for decreasing the contents of HCH in groundwater in the area of contamination with pesticides downstream the Chemical Plant Organika-Azot S.A in Jaworzno. The PRB technology is a groundwater remediation method which is applicable to any site with HCH groundwater contamination. The results showed the potential of the PRB. The operation of the PRB in pilot scale allowed to promote innovative approaches to remediation on site among the public authorities, stakeholders, researchers and distributors of technologies for groundwater treatment.
According to the PETI committee "Lindane in EU" there are 25 lindane contaminated megasites in 14 European countries and more than 40 based in recent information coming from the EU project HCHinEU. All the regions and countries where these sites are located could benefit from application of the PRB technology.
Tags: Environment
