Investigation and Remediation of Groundwater Contamination at a Pesticide Facility — a Case Study

Soil and groundwater beneath a 22-year old agrichemical formulating and warehousing facility in Cambridge, Ontario, have been impacted with pesticides in addition to volatile organic and nitrosoamine compounds associated with their formulation. Thirty-three compounds, including 15 pesticides release...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water quality research journal of Canada 1995, Vol.30 (3), p.469-491
Main Authors: Carter, R S, Stiebel, W H, Nalasco, P J, Pardieck, D L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Contamination
Decontamination
Dissolution
Drinking water
Groundwater
Mathematical models
Migration
Monitoring
Pesticides
Pumps
Q1
Refraction
Sediments
Seismic engineering
Volatile organic compounds
Warehouses
Waste management
Water quality
Water tables
Wells
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Summary:Soil and groundwater beneath a 22-year old agrichemical formulating and warehousing facility in Cambridge, Ontario, have been impacted with pesticides in addition to volatile organic and nitrosoamine compounds associated with their formulation. Thirty-three compounds, including 15 pesticides released to the soil from an underground process wastewater system, concrete-lined pits, storage areas and infrequent spills, are present in the water table at a depth of 10 m in overburden sediments. Groundwater flow in the overburden is complex and dissolved compound migration is influenced by spatially variable vertical hydraulic gradients induced from the underlying dolostone aquifer which is pumped by municipal supply wells located at distances ranging from 600 m to 1500 m from the site. One pesticide, metolachlor (2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl) acetamide), has been measured consistently above Ontario drinking water objectives in the overburden and at a depth of 30 to 39 m below ground surface in the bedrock aquifer adjacent to the site. A groundwater pump and treat system is operating and is controlling further off-site migration of dissolved compounds in the overburden, and treating the captured groundwater with granular activated carbon.
ISSN:1201-3080
2408-9443
DOI:10.2166/wqrj.1995.038