Case Study on In Situ Chemical Oxidation of Gasoline

This case study will detail the remedial history of a gasoline tanker truck crash site. The authors will describe excavation, pumping of ground water and light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPL) and injection of a chemical oxidant to remediate the site. The case study will focus on: 1. The challenges of working in a rural area without water or electricity, 2. Securing access from a state agency and adjoining property owner, 3. Obtaining property owner and state agency authorization to inject chemical oxidants, 4. The operational and safety challenges of working in the right-of-way of a busy highway, and 5. The challenges of delivering injectable oxidants beneath a previously excavated area. This paper suggests changes in project approach to improve the final outcome. Introduction: Early one fall morning, a truck driver carrying a load of gasoline through the rural Midwest loses control of his rig and crashes along the side of the road. The truck driver is shaken, but not seriously injured. Local law enforcement and fire rescue workers arrive at the site within 15 minutes. A short time later, department of transportation (DOT) workers arrive to make sure the road is closed and traffic rerouted. Appropriately, all of the early efforts in such accidents are focused on assessing the scene, extracting crash survivors and securing the area to prevent additional injuries. After the site is secured, emergency responders shift their focus to the gasoline leaking from the overturned tanker and other work necessary to clean up the crash site and reopen the road.