Earth Tech provided emergency response activities for a spill of approximately 12,000 gallons of Type A Jet Fuel at the client’s tank farm. The spill occurred in sandy soil in an area 15 feet by 150 feet. Accessibility to the site was very limited due to tank berms and aboveground piping. The client required that a soil vapor extraction and product recovery system be installed to clean up spills to 50 ppm or background concentration with the recovered vapor vented directly to the atmosphere without treatment.
Earth Tech performed the remedial design, installed and operated the equipment and interpreted the remedial action results to determine the effectiveness of the remediation.
Earth Tech installed two 4-inch diameter soil vapor extraction and groundwater recovery wells in the spill area with screen intervals from 10 feet below the water table to 15 feet above. The system was designed to recover both liquids and vapor. During operation, 85% of the total spill volume was recovered in the liquid phase, 15% as soil gas. Total VOC concentration was reduced from about 13,000 ppm to 300-400 ppm or 97% reduction in a matter of 100 days operation. The system was operated until the vapor phase concentration dropped to 100 ppm.
Earth Tech provided guidance concerning long term operation and system shutdown, including test procedures to determine if asymptotic levels of cleanup were achieved, soil verification testing in the field, and groundwater monitoring to determine effectiveness and potential modifications required to achieve closure. Follow-up monitoring indicated the system had removed all free product and recommended the equipment be shut down and disassembled.
PROJECT CASE
Emergency Response to a Fuel Spill
Location:
North America
Client:
Confidential
