Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water and typically requires immediate action as to not impact negatively on human health and the environment. Remedial action is also generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and can be based on assessments of human health and ecological risks where no legislated standards exist or where standards are advisory.
Once a site is suspected of being contaminated there is a need to assess the contamination as well as examine the historical use of the site and the materials used and produced on site will also guide the assessment strategy and type of sampling and chemical analysis to be done. Remediation technologies are many and varied but can generally be categorized into ex-situ and in-situ methods. Ex-situ methods involve excavation of affected soils and subsequent treatment at the surface as well as extraction of contaminated groundwater and treatment at the surface. In-situ methods seek to treat the contamination without removing the soils or groundwater. Various technologies have been developed for remediation of oil-contaminated soil/sediments.Traditional remediation approaches consist of soil excavation and disposal to landfill and groundwater "pump and treat". In-situ technologies include but are not limited to: solidification and stabilization, soil vapor extraction, permeable reactive barriers, monitored natural attenuation, bioremediation-phytoremediation, chemical oxidation, steam-enhanced extraction and in situ thermal desorption and have been used extensively in the USA.
The here purpose is more than just eliminating radiation sources, and spill response; it is about protecting people and the environment against potential harmful effects, doing what’s right, and making our world a much healthier place for all life forms to live.
Article Credit: Wikipedia