| Caldwell Environmental personnel have
developed a safe, economical method of treating polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
contaminated material. The treatment process is referred to as the Chemical/Microbial
Reduction Technique (CMRT). A demonstration project was conducted at Bayer Inc. , Rubber
Division, located in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on the effectiveness of the CMRT in
destroying PCB's contained within a chemical sludge. The project was conducted under
Director's Instruction issued by the Ministry of Environment and Energy
(MOEE). During forty years of operation, a chemical sump which
serviced Bayer's Main Laboratory had accumulated a chemical sludge which contained up to
740 mb/kg of PCB's. The sump was located approximately six feet underground.
The sludge was a complex mixture of various
organic and inorganic chemicals including mercury at a concentration of up to 7400 ms/kg.
Initially , a bench scale study was conducted on a sample of the sludge to confirm that
the CMRT would be an effective method of treating the sump contents. The initial treatment
of the sludge was conducted within the sump, minimizing risks related to removing and
transporting the PCB waste. Final treatment was conducted on-site within a secure
container.
The treatment method was effective in
reducing the concentration of PCB's to less than 50 mg/kg, even though, the conditions for
the treatment were less than ideal for the microbes. The project also confirmed that the
CMRT is an effective treatment method in remediation of concrete walls and water the have
been exposed to PCB contaminated material.
Treatment of PCB contaminated material can
be conducted at a customers site at a fraction of the cost of shipping the material to
existing facilities in Canada or the United States. On-site treatment also reduces the
customers liability related to shipping PCB contaminated material across the country for
disposal. The treatment method is environmental friendly since there is no high
consumption of fossil fuels, such as, with any type of incineration method that can be
used to treat contaminated solids.
Caldwell Environmental has found the key to
eliminating the massive inventory of PCB contaminated materials stored in North America. |
