Innovative reactive barrier technologies for regional contaminated groundwater

At many industrial sites inadequate waste disposal, leakages and war damages have led to severe groundwater contamination on a regional scale. Standard hydraulic groundwater remediation methods, such as pump-and-treat, in most cases do not lead to satisfactory results, due to the persistence of organic contaminants and the resulting very long remediation times. The goal of SAFIRA (Sanierungs-Forschung in regional kontaminierten Aquiferen), a joint project of several research partners is to develop and to provide the necessary technologies and methods to demonstrate the successful implementation of in situ reactive barriers in regionally contaminated aquifers. In this joint project German and Dutch research partners co-operate in developing treatment zone technologies based on various chemical and biological processes. The SAFIRA on-site underground reactor facility in Bitterfeld is used for investigations under in-situ aquifer conditions. Here 8 principal approaches are being tested and evaluated with respect to their technical and economical performance. In addition to the development of reactor technology various other aspects of passive in situ treatment such as legal, economical and ecological aspects are addressed by several research groups including the Umweltforschungszentrum Leipzig-Halle, as well as the universities of Tiibingen, Dresden, Kiel, Leipzig, Halle and TNO.