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This study provides a twenty-two-year record of in situ degradation of chlorinated organic compounds by a granular iron permeable reactive barrier (PRB). Groundwater concentrations of trichloroethene (TCE) entering the PRB were as high as 10,670 μg/L. Treatment efficiency ranged from 81 to >99% and TCE concentrations from <1 μg/L to 165 μg/L were detected within and hydraulically down-gradient of the PRB. After 18 years, effluent TCE concentrations were above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) along segments of the PRB exhibiting upward trending influent TCE. Degradation products included cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), vinyl chloride (VC), ethene, ethane, >C4 compounds, and possibly CO 2(aq) and methane. Abiotic patterns of TCE degradation were indicated by compound-specific stable isotope data and the distribution of degradation products. δ 13 C values of methane within and down-gradient of the PRB varied widely from −94‰ to −16‰; these values cover most of the isotopic range encountered in natural methanogenic systems. Methanogenesis is a sink for inorganic carbon in zero-valent iron PRBs that competes with carbonate mineralization and this process is important for understanding porespace clogging and longevity of iron-based PRBs. The carbon isotope signatures of methane and inorganic carbon were consistent with open-system behavior and 22% molar conversion of CO 2(aq) to methane.

A previous field demonstration project on nitrate‐based bioremediation of a fuel‐contaminated aquifer used short‐screened clustered well points in addition to shallow (10 foot), conventional monitoring wells to monitor the progress of remediation during surface application of recharge. These well systems were placed in the center and at one edge of each of two treatment cells. One cell received recharge amended with nitrate (nitrate cell), and the other received unamended recharge (control cell). Data from the clustered well points were averaged to provide a mean estimate for comparison with the associated conventional monitoring well. Conservative tracer profiles were similar for each of the four systems, with better fits obtained for well systems located at the edge of the treatment cells. However, aromatic hydrocarbon and electron acceptor profiles varied greatly for the two center well systems, with the conventional monitoring well data suggesting that remediation was proceeding at a much more rapid rate than indicated by the cluster well points. Later tests with an electromagnetic borehole flowmeter demonstrated a significant vertical flow through the well‐bore of the conventional monitoring well under simulated operating conditions. This created an artifact during sampling, thought to arise from preferential flow of recharge water from the water table to deeper portions of the contaminated zone resulting in several effects, including an actual decreased residence time of water sampled by the conventional well. These data provide additional evidence that conventional monitoring wells may be inadequate for monitoring remediation in the presence of significant vertical hydraulic gradients, even for fairly shallow homogeneous aquifers.

A field study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a ferrous iron based in situ redox zone for the treatment of a dissolved phase Cr(VI) plume at a former industrial site. The ferrous iron based in situ redox zone was created by injecting a blend of 0.2 M ferrous sulfate and 0.2 M sodium dithionite into the path of a dissolved Cr(VI) plume within a shallow medium to fine sand unconfined aquifer formation. Monitoring data collected over a period of 1020 days after more than 100 m of linear groundwater flow through the treatment zone indicated sustained treatment of dissolved phase Cr(VI) from initial concentrations between 4 and 8 mg/L to less than 0.015 mg/L. Sustained treatment is assumed to be primarily due to the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by ferrous iron adsorbed to, precipitated on, and/or incorporated into aquifer iron (hydr)oxide solid surfaces within the treatment zone. Precipitated phases likely include FeCO3 and FeS based on saturation index considerations and SEM/EDS analysis. The detection of solid phase sulfites and thiosulfates in aquifer sediments collected from the treatment zone more than 2 years following injection suggests dithionite decomposition products may also play a significant role in the long-term treatment of the dissolved phase Cr(VI).