Cleanup of a contaminated site in Atuba, Brazil

COPEL, a state owned utility company in Atuba, Brazil, faced with cleaning up a site where the soil was heavily contaminated with transformer oil since 1964 due to a long history of unsafe practices of storage and cleanup. The site is located on a hill and covers 18,400 square meters of total area alongside the river Parana and is declared as an Area of Permanent Protection (APP) by the State. It was mandatory therefore, that the soil is remediated in situ with minimum excavation and without disturbing the local pristine flora and fauna. The level of contamination as TPH in the soil was as high as 766,695 ppm in certain places and much of the contamination was at a depth of 1 meter. The treatment of soil was done using Pump and Treat method by constructing irrigation canals in the soil and then washing the soil with rain water being pumped through the canals. The contaminated water with the washed out oil was later collected in holding tanks and treated with AgroRemed. The results showed considerable reduction in TPH values in soil and in one case the value was reduced from 766,965 ppm to 72 ppm. Please click here (Link).