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Remediation Strategy Developed for Jet Fuel Contamination Site
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) issued a challenge to Aztech Technologies. The challenge: develop and implement a sound remediation strategy for three major oil storage terminals along the Seneca River just outside of Syracuse, NY. The sites had been previously investigated which identified a free-product plume of jet fuel and aviation gasoline that covered approximately two acres. At that time, some limited remediation had been conducted.
According to Matt Darcangelo, Chief Operating Officer for Aztech Technologies in Ballston Spa, NY, they knew this was going to be a big task. “The project team would need to be creative to successfully complete the challenge,” Matt said. “This was largely due to the present condition of the storage
terminals and their close proximity to the river.” One of the terminals had been dismantled; however, two terminals were still standing with all of the above ground tanks, piping, containment, and racks still intact. Both of the facilities were right along the river bank with steep slopes and a pipeline running between them. “This limited access to just two sides,” Matt added. “The majority of the product plume was within the secondary containments and underneath the tanks.”
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Aztech selected a combination of soil vapor extraction and free-product recovery pumps to implement the initial phase of the remediation. Pilot tests were conducted to determine the radius of influence and to design the wells. With most of the real estate covered with above-ground tanks and piping, “choosing well locations that would provide effective coverage of the plume area also proved challenging,” Matt said. “Some of the work locations were as narrow as five feet wide, and workers had to pull in their elbows to fit between the tanks to move through some areas.”
The Aztech field team installed 67 remedial wells, both two- and four-inches in diameter. “We needed a rig that could get the wells in, collect accurate samples, and easily move between locations within the confines of some very tight areas,” Matt explained. “It was the perfect job for our Geoprobe® 6610DT.” Phil Galka, of Aztech Technologies, led the project team, and devised a plan involving temporary bridges, constructing drilling platforms, and using a crane to get the 6610DT where it needed to be to install the wells.
“The 6610DT was up for the task,“ Matt said. Chris DiNovo, who was in charge of the Aztech drill crew, put the machine through its paces. Four-inch wells were installed to depths of 24.5 feet through very fine sand and silt. Two-inch wells were installed up to 29.5 feet below grade where product thicknesses eclipsed five feet in certain monitoring wells. Select borings continued to up to 35 feet to evaluate the underlying geology.
Much of the well installation work was conducted during a six-week period that spanned the areas full range of seasons starting with 90 degree days, 90 percent humidity, and thunder storms in late August, which lasted through the mid-October snow squalls that introduce the legendary New York winters. According to Matt, “through thick and thin, (many very thin places), our team got the job done in an exemplary manner and without accident or injury. “ As of July, 2007, the cleanup efforts recovered the equivalent of over 4,400 gallons of free product.
Since completing the challenge in Syracuse, Aztech Technologies has taken its 6610DT into warehouses, woods, swamps, offices, landfills, and onto ponds via barges. “We are very satisfied with the performance of the machine. Although size is relative, the 6610DT was small enough to go where we needed it to go and complete all of the work tasks we threw at it,” Matt concluded. “After so much hard work maybe its time we take it on a cruise!”
Aztech Tecnologies developed a video of the Field Team and 6610DT at the Seneca River project site. Go to http://www.aztechtech.com/video.html to see how the 6610DT machine learned to fly!
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