data for Thala Valley Clean Up Project 2003/4
Survey information on the Thala Valley landfill clean up site from the summer season of 2003/2004 - final survey of site before departure, including stockpile sites - survey of all points where samples were taken throughout project Until the mid-1980s, waste handling in Antarctica typically involved...
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| Format: | Dataset |
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Polar Information Commons
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| Online Access: | https://researchdata.ands.org.au/thala-valley-clean-project-20034/13913 http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=TVCleanupSurvey0304 |
| Summary: | Survey information on the Thala Valley landfill clean up site from the summer season of 2003/2004 - final survey of site before departure, including stockpile sites - survey of all points where samples were taken throughout project Until the mid-1980s, waste handling in Antarctica typically involved the dumping of material in gullies and bays in the immediate vicinity of stations. In a massive logistical exercise in the 2003-04 Antarctic summer, the Australian Antarctic Division cleaned up one such site - in Thala Valley, near Casey station. Although the major operational phase occurred this year, the project began in earnest in 2000. A nationally-advertised call for expressions of interest sourced suitable on-site and post-removal hazardous waste remediation technologies. Site assessments conducted over successive summers identified issues influencing the choice of removal strategies and enabled environmental monitoring baselines to be established. The excavation of diversion channels to direct summer melt water away from the site, and the deployment of a specially designed water treatment plant to separate particulate and dissolved contaminants from site run-off, were among methods chosen to control the mobilisation of contaminants present in the tip. The excavated material was containerised and shipped to Tasmania using 235 purpose-built containers donated by Vivendi (now Veolia). To contain costs associated with the heavy metal stabilisation treatment of some of the waste, samples from each container were analysed using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). In accordance with stringent quarantine and National Environment Protection Measure requirements, the material was then deep buried in an appropriately certified landfill near the Port of Hobart. Twenty-four related scientific papers were published in peer-reviewed journals in 2003, and many parties to the project have participated in a formal project debrief. Early monitoring results indicate that the activity has been conducted in a manner consistent with Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty requirements, in particular that clean-up actions not result in greater adverse environmental impact than leaving the material in situ. |
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