A synopsis on
Remediation of soils contaminated with pesticides: A review
Teresa Castelo-Grande, Paulo A.
Augustoac, Paulo Monteirod,Angel M.
Estevezc and Domingos Barbos
Laborato´rio de Engenharia de Processos,
Ambiente e Energia (LEPAE),Departamento
de Engenharia Quı´mica, Faculdade de
Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr.
Roberto Frias, Portugal
By
Fateen Samra Shakir (631007)
Environmental engineering II (SCOE, Vadgaon)
The aim of this work is to address the problem of soil contamination with pesticides and
present a review of the existing techniques for remediation of these types of soils. First, a
brief discussion of the soil structure and complexity is presented, and the impact of its
contamination by pesticides is examined. Then, the main existing and emerging techniques
for soil remediation, particularly for the elimination of pesticides, is discussed, and their
relative advantages and disadvantages presented.
The use of pesticides has been generalised after the Second World War and is directly
connected to the changes introduced in the production and growing of food species which
allowed doubling the agricultural productivity when compared with other economical
activities. The uncontrolled use of pesticides (disrespect for the appropriate concentrations
to be used, testing periods and security measures) may provoke not only the contamination
of soil, but also the contamination of groundwater, rivers, lakes and man.
The decontamination techniques can be classified, based on the nature of the treatment, as:
physical-chemical, biological, thermal or other techniques.
Primary action techniques like confinement techinique is discussed. Biological techniques
include Biopiles, landfarming, Natural attenuation, Composting, Bio-airsparging, Bioventing,
Bio-rehabilitation, and Phytoremediation. Physico-chemical techniques like Soil vapour
extraction, Airsparging, Dechlorination, Soil flushing, Solvent extraction, and
Solidification/stabilisation. Thermal techniques include Thermal incineration, Thermal
desorption, and Vitrification.
Special techniques
Some techniques can be considered as special, as they are in a development stage and have
been shown to deserve a more careful study for better analysing their efficiency and
implementation. Electro-kinetic, Plasma and Supercritical extraction are some of the special
soil remediation techniques discussed.
Conclusion:
In this paper, the main decontamination techniques were reviewed, and their advantages,
disadvantages, suitability and efficiency discussed. Selection of the best technique to apply
to a certain situation is often difficult, as most of the remediation technologies are site and
contaminant specific.
The paper shows clearly that many techniques may be applied for specific situations, and
that some can be more effective or cheaper than others in a particular situation. SVE is the
most frequently used technology as it provides good results in a short time, and is also cost-
effective, presenting in some cases, costs of remediation estimated at just above US$2 per
cubic yard (0.76m3). Landfarming, a traditional technology, may still be used at effective
costs to treat some contaminants like total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Bioventing has
been successfully tested in some sites, and nowadays can be almost considered a full scale
working technology, although with the limitations already detailed. Although efficient and
fast, soil washing presents the problem of being only effectively applicable for limited soil
quantities. Thermal desorption is a technique very efficient and cost-effective to treat a wide
range of contaminants present in harsh soil environments (clay and silty soil). US$200 per
tonne of treated soil is the operational cost usually associated with this technology. Another
technology that is able to treat a wide range of contaminants is in situ vitrification, which,
however, is usually only effective in complex hydrogeologic settings. Biopiles and
phytoremediation are technologies still under pilot testing.
