The effects of freezing and thawing on the aqueous availability of creosote contamination in soil

A variety of methods have been tested in attempts to remediate contaminated sites. Fine-grained soils are extremely problematic to remediate, due to the high adsorption capacity of the fine soil particles and the trapping effect of soil particle micropores. It is well documented that freezing of soil causes particle restructuring and reorganization, with different pore structures found after freezing. Some factors affecting restructuring include soil moisture content, freezing rate, freezing end-point temperature, and number of freezing cycles. This poster presents an experiment that determines if freezing creosote contaminated soil improves accessibility of the creosote, by measuring aqueous phase contaminant dissolution. This method was selected since water is the most common solvent in naturally occurring systems, and water represents a worst-case scenario since many contaminants have low aqueous solubilities. Freezing is carried out under controlled laboratory conditions. Variables examined include moisture content, freezing rate, and soil contamination level. If contaminant availability is increased through soil freezing, remediation becomes an easier task in fine grained soils.