Penetration of Clay Soils by Chlorinated Solvents
Fine-grained sediments are typically thought to
prevent the migration of non-aqueous phase liquids. However, high
concentrations of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene were found
in a clay unit below an unlined settling basin at
the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. To help understand
these observations, experiments with clay cores collected at the site
were performed to assess the potential for solvent liquid penetration
into the clay. Cores collected from a clay outcrop at the site were
subjected to tetrachloroethylene, and the migration into saturated
cores and cores at field conditions was assessed after three, five, and
eight weeks of exposure. Results indicate that an organic solvent can
migrate into the clay under field conditions. Heterogeneities within
the clay unit seem to govern this migration.
Related Publications
Reeves, H.W., Lough, K.A., and Goni, M.A., "An Experimental
Investigation of Organic Solvent Infiltration into a Natural Clay,"
Proceedings of the Fourth Great Lakes Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental
Conference: In-Situ Remediation of Contaminated Sites, Edited by K.R. Reddy,
The University of Illinois at Chicago, 1996.
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