Minimizing the Health Risks from Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils by Using Electric Field-Based Treatment for Soil Remediation

Irina Aura Istrate, Diana Mariana Cocârță, Zucheng Wu and Mihaela Alexandra Stoian
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Irina Aura Istrate: Department of Biotechnical Systems, Faculty of Biotechnical Systems Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, 006042 Bucharest, Romania
Diana Mariana Cocârță: Department of Energy Production and Use, Faculty of Power Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, 006042 Bucharest, Romania
Zucheng Wu: Department of Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Mihaela Alexandra Stoian: Department of Energy Production and Use, Faculty of Power Engineering, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 313 Splaiul Independentei, 006042 Bucharest, Romania

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: The present work addresses the assessment of human health risk from soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) due to crude oil pollution, with a particular focus on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) group of carcinogenic and toxic substances. Given that the measured risk for human health exceeded the accepted level, the study considered an electrochemical remediation method. The laboratory-scale experiments were conducted by using an electric field-based treatment as a possible solution for the remediation of contaminated soil. After 20 days of treatment, while the voltage applied was 15 V (specific voltage of 1 V/cm), the hydrocarbon content was significantly reduced. The parameters measured to determine the overall remediation efficiency were pH, redox potential, ionic strength, soil characteristics, voltage gradient, and zeta potential. The remediation degree observed during the experiments was around 50% for TPHs and 46% for PAHs. The applied remediation method resulted in significant removal efficiency of the tested contaminants from the soil. Consequently, the human health risk assessment for the new degree of contaminants in the soil was achieved. This data demonstrated to what extent the application of the remediation applied technology ensured an acceptable risk under the same exposure conditions for the industrial workers.

Keywords: risk assessment; PAHs; electrochemical remediation; contaminated soil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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