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>> Soil and Groundwater Remediation Products
The following real world examples illustrate how Alabaster Corporation bioremediation products have been used successfully in a variety of projects:
Petroleum Compressor Station
Contamination at this site was petrochemical hydrocarbons which had leaked from around three compressor units. Much of the contamination had been covered by gravel on several occasions and there was further spread of the contamination via runoff through a French drain. The total site was approximately six (6) acres with contamination noted on three (3) acres. Samples of contaminated soil from the site were lab tested and found to have initial contaminant levels ranging from TPH (total parts hydrocarbon) of 11,000 PPM (parts per million) up to 147,000 PPM. The objective of this remediation was to reduce the contamination throughout the site to an acceptable permitted level of less than 10,000 PPM.
This bioremediation treated a total of approximately 7,000 cubic yards and employed the following techniques:
1. Wet vacuum of surface liquid contamination and bio-cell treatment with advancement solutions and microbes
2. Surface cleaning with advancement solutions and microbes
3. Pressure injection of advancement solutions and microbes
4. Tilling in absorbents with advancement solutions and microbes
The results of this treatment are summarized in the following table. As can be seen, the objectives of this treatment were met within a six week timeframe from November 1 to December 18.
Test Results - Sites 1 thru 3
| TPH (PPM) |
Site 1 |
Site 2 |
Site 3 |
| Nov 1 |
11,000 |
147,000 |
130,000 |
| Nov 13 |
9,000 |
50,000 |
26,000 |
| Dec 9 |
NTR |
15,000 |
9,000 |
| Dec 18 |
NTR |
9,000 |
NTR |
NTR - No Test Required
Automotive Repair Store Sites
Six separate properties which had been leased to an auto repair chain required remediation before the property owner could resell them. Each location had underground storage tanks for gasoline or oil. In addition, there were enclosed cement work areas with heavy oil contamination and outside asphalt parking areas with oil contamination at each location. Wash-up runoff of the cement area went to the asphalt areas which in turn drained to dirt where the storage tanks were buried.
There were three phases to this cleanup. First was cleanup of the cement floor work areas. A beginning TPH of approximately 30,000 PPM on average was reduced to totally clean by surface washing with BCC#1 and microbes at each location.
The second phase was cleanup of the asphalt areas, with each location covering approximately 10,000 square feet. The areas not only had surface contamination but also soil contamination under the asphalt. Cleanup of this area required injection of advancement solution and microbes to a depth of 2 feet under the asphalt. There were a total of four such treatments over a four month period.
The third and final phase involved cleanup and closure of the storage tanks which had both internal and external contamination. The internals of each tank were pumped out as reclaimable waste material, then cleaned with BCC#1 and microbes, filled with bank sand and closed permanently in place. The surrounding soil was treated in-situ with advancement solution and microbes.
Beginning contamination (TPH) was as high as 38,000 PPM and all locations were reduced to 500 PPM or less during the period from January to April. The following table summarizes the cleanup history of each site:
Test Results - 6 Stores
| TPH (PPM) |
Store 1 |
Store 2 |
Store 3 |
Store 4 |
Store 5 |
Store 6 |
| Jan. |
33,000 |
24,800 |
17,186 |
4,250 |
5,040 |
3,540 |
| Feb. |
7,600 |
935 |
9,623 |
2,992 |
644 |
416 |
| Mar. |
NA |
418 |
172 |
168 |
325 |
NTR |
| Apr. |
500 |
NTR |
NTR |
NTR |
NTR |
NTR |
NTR - No Test Required
NA - Not Available
Railroad Track Cleanup at Chemical Plant
The railrod tracks confined within the property of a chemical plant were contaminated with brake fluid, grease, diesel fuel, creosote and other halogenated hydrocarbons. Runoff from the tracks went to the normal flood plain and cleanup was required. Conventional methods would have required removal of the tracks, excavation of contaminated soil and gravel and land filling. This process would have been extremely expensive just for the cleanup, however, disruption of service would have been even more costly.
The plant decided to bioremediate the contaminated areas using Alabaster products. Six treatments with BCC#1 and appropriate microbe blends were applied to the track bed and other contaminated areas over a four and a half month period. The beginning contamination levels (TPH) varied from 4,000 PPM up to 29,000 PPM, depending on sample location. After four and a half months, contamination had been reduced to <900 PPM everywhere on this 3000 cubic yard site.
Refinery Oil Tank Firewall Cleanup
At a refinery complex tank farm, a long term accumulation of spilled and leaked oil had contaminated the soil in the surrounding firewall around one storage tank. Over the years, contaminated soil had been removed from the firewall areas and stockpiled on an adjacent area. In samples taken in late May, the contaminated soil in the stockpile had an average TPH of >27,000 PPM and a peak TPH of 57,800 PPM. Other samples taken from within the firewall areas showed varying contamination levels from 30 PPM up to 4200 PPM.
The highly contaminated soil from the stockpile was spread in a thin layer over an enclosed area of approximately 1,000 square yards adjacent to the tank. This 1,000 square yard area as well as the firewall area was treated with a combination of Alabaster's A strain microbe blend and advancement solution. After the initial treatment, the area was watered for at least four hours per day each day for a month. When additional samples were taken in late June, the maximum TPH over the entire area had fallen to <1000 PPM.
Pipeline Leak into Sewer System
A leaking pipeline in Texas City, Texas had contaminated the underground sewer system with high levels of LEL, creating a hazardous condition. An environmental cleanup contractor sprayed approximately 500 gallons of Alabaster's Petro-Clean product into the sewer system as a first response. After meeting with city officials and Texas environmental management personnel, a treatment plan was agreed to based on an assessment of the overall impact of the situation. The city had assessed that approximately 3.5 miles of underground sewer had been invaded by the mixture of fuels. LEL meters were pegged out all over town.
An additional round of treatment using Petro-Clean was applied at several different areas in the system. Within 24 hours, the LEL levels were dropping substantially in response to the treatment. Meanwhile, the city had discovered microbe kills in their clarifiers, six 1.2 million gallon tanks. The first one had gone down and a second was turning a murkish brown. One hundred pounds of Alabaster microbe blends (A, B, C and S types) were applied to clarifier #1. A three-day treatment was recommended. The next day, the degassing effort throughout the sewers had been successfully completed after about 72 hours since the initial application of Petro-Clean. Treatment of the clarifiers continued with the introduction of an additional two hundred pounds of microbes along with two hundred pounds of Alabaster Nutrient Booster. By the next day, the first clarifier came back up and the second one was clear. Less than 24 hours later, municipal engineers stated that the system was up and running. This potentially highly dangerous situation had been completely remediated within a total elapsed time of 5 days.
Used in conjunction with Petro-Clean and other Alabaster advancement solutions, the A and B microbe blends are regularly utilized for cleanups in plant sewers, tank farms, oil spills, ditches, etc. The C and S microbe blends are used in food-processing plants as well as human waste-treatment plants. They can re-populate water treatment systems. They are naturally occurring, non-pathogenic and have a high tolerance to petroleum contamination. Plant treatment systems regularly state that their operation is more efficient after use of these microbes.
 
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