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Toxics Program Remediation Activities | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Location | Bemidji, MN |
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Contaminants | Crude oil |
Description |
USGS scientists are monitoring the state-mandated remediation at the Bemidji crude-oil spill site. The monitoring provides an important opportunity to investigate the impact and efficacy of pump and treat remediation of ground-water contamination at a site that has been extensively characterized. The Lakehead Pipeline Company designed the remediation system at the site using USGS data that was collected as part of a long-term investigation of the natural attenuation of crude oil spilled in the subsurface. Skimmer pumps installed in several wells are being used to remove oil from the water table, to eliminate the source of contamination in the aquifer. The impact of the remediation is being monitored and documented in several ways.
In addition to the above work, the Bemidji research team is conducting long-term research on the processes that control the natural attenuation of contaminants in the unsaturated zone. Overview of remediation plan: The goal of the remediation is to remove the crude oil that is presently floating on the water table. The crude oil is the source of dissolved hydrocarbons that are present in a large plume of contaminated ground water. The plan of the remediation is to pump water out of collection wells and thereby lower the water table inside the wells. The oil then flows into the well, forming a layer on top of the water. The oil in this layer is pumped out of the well with a skimmer pump and removed from the site. The water that is separated from the oil is reinjected into the aquifer. |
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Toxics Hydrocarbon Remediation Projects
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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
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Last modified on
Monday, 02-Aug-2004 15:21:50 EDT
The URL for this document is http://toxics.usgs.gov/topics/rem_act/oil_recovery.html