Advances in engineered remediation for use in the Arctic and Antarctica
D.M. Filler a1, C.M. Reynolds a2, I. Snape a3, A.J. Daugulis a4, D.L. Barnes a5 and P.J. Williams a6
a1 Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755900, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5900, USA (ffdmf@uaf.edu)
a2 United States Army Engineer Research Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
a3 Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia
a4 Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
a5 Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755900, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5900, USA
a6 Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER
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AbstractCreative remediation schemes have been implemented with success at petroleum-contaminated sites in Alaska and Canada during the past decade. Contaminated media have been landfarmed, amended with fertilizers, augmented with microbial products, and manipulated with engineered systems. Phytoremediation developments and use of biodegradable synthetic and polymeric resins for potential use with petroleum and xenobiotic contaminants are on the horizon. Treatment of supra-permafrost water and melt-water runoff with permeable reactive barriers and partitioning bioreactors is now possible. Cost and time limitations will likely continue to drive remediation decisions in the Arctic. Environmental policy, environmental constraints, and cost will dictate what technologies are appropriate for Antarctic clean-up, although the pressure of time is less acute because land transfer and liability are not drivers. This paper discusses some recent advances in remediation engineering for use in polar regions. Conceptual models are presented, and case study treatment costs and durations are highlighted to aid environmental decision-making.
(Published Online May 8 2006)
(Received January 2005)
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