Soil Washing of PCB, Lead and Arsenic Contaminated Soils at Springfield Township Superfund Site

ART Engineering, LLC

The Springfield Township Superfund site, located near Davisburg, Michigan, was used for general disposal of waste materials in the 1960s, and was placed on the EPA NPL list in 1983.  Due to presence of heavy metals and the high cost associated with incineration and objections of local residents to proposed incineration treatment as initially specified in the ROD, the PRP Group led by DaimlerChrysler elected to use soil washing as an alternative remediation method for removal of PCB and heavy metals (Lead, Arsenic) to achieve on-site volume reduction and cost savings as compared to direct disposal and thermal treatment.

Mobile Soil Washing Plant

Plant Feed

ART performed a treatability study to on samples collected by excavating test pits to determine the feasibility of soil washing for this site.  The soil washing was effective in removing PCB and heavy metal(-s) Lead and Arsenic from the soil to below cleanup criteria (<5 ppm PCB, <100 ppm Lead, <9 ppm Arsenic). The optimized process consisted of a physical separation process including screening, hydrocyclone separation and sludge (fines) dewatering. Based on the success of the treatability study and low cost of soil washing as compared to other alternate treatment technologies, ART was selected by the PRP group to implement soil washing at the site.

Treated Sand

Clean Sand for Backfilling

PCB Contaminated Filter Cake for off-site disposal