Decontamination of a fertilizer facilitySoil neutralization and decontamination measures in over 40,000 m³ of acidic soil at the site of Vassilicos in Cyprus.
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| PROJECT DESCRIPTION |
Near the area of Vassilikos site in Cyprus there was a fertilizer factory. During the production of fertilizer, wastes of sulfuric acid were disposed in natural lagoons in the area of interest for this investigation report. The lagoons were coated with natural clay, so there was no expected harm to the soil or the groundwater. After the closing of the factory an amount of about 600 to 1000 m³ of sulfuric acid was deposited. To coat the acid deposits, the entire area was covered with a limestone soil that represented, together with claystone, the natural soil in that region.
After the decision of the Electricity Authorities of Cyprus to develop the region including the contaminated area and to build a new power plant, investigations of the subsurface were performed by E.A.C in order to carry out the appropriate decontamination measures. INTERGEO was assigned with a contract to neutralize the contaminated soil of the site before it would be totally excavated and disposed of in a specially prepared encapsulation cell.
The decontamination measures in the contaminated site have been carried out in 4 different phases :
Phase I : Investigation
Phase II : Pumping and neutralisation of the liquid sulfuric acid
Phase III : Solid phase neutralisation
Phase IV : Disposal of the neutralized soil
The total amount of the pumped sulfuric acid during the pumping procedure reached 645m³.
The total amount of the neutralized soil finally reached 43,020m³.
