EPA Report Examines Treatment Technologies for Mercury in Soil, Waste and Water
In August, EPA released a report that contains information on the availability, performance and cost of eight technologies for the treatment of mercury in soil, waste and water.
The document, "Treatment Technologies For Mercury in Soil, Waste, and Water," describes the theory, design and operation of the technologies; provides information on commercial availability and use; and includes site-specific data on performance and cost, where available. This information can help managers at sites with mercury-contaminated media and generators of mercury-contaminated waste and wastewater to:
- Identify proven and effective mercury treatment technologies.
- Screen technologies based on application-specific goals, characteristics, and cost.
- Apply experiences from sites with similar treatment challenges.
The technologies for soil and waste that are included in the report are solidification and stabilization, soil washing and acid extraction, thermal treatment, and vitrification. Technologies for water include precipitation/coprecipitation, adsorption, membrane filtration, and biological treatment. The report also includes information on ongoing research on mercury treatment, including applications using nanotechnology, phytoremediation, air stripping, and in situ thermal desorption.
The report can be accessed in PDF format at http://www.clu-in.org/goto.cfm?link=%2Fdownload%2Fremed%2F542r07003%2Epdf&id=688.
This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2007 issue of Environmental Protection.