Development of orthophosphate and silica treatments for the management of environmental contaminants at Wilkes landfill, East Antarctica

• Main Author: Danielle Camenzuli
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Other education not elsewhere classified; Oil pollution of soils; Soils > Heavy metal content > Antarctica; Soil pollution > Antarctica; Soil remediation > Antarctica; Oil pollution of soils > Antarctica; Soil pollution; Soil remediation; Soils; Antarctic; Clark Peninsula; East Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.25949/19427801.v1; https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Development_of_orthophosphate_and_silica_treatments_for_the_management_of_environmental_contaminants_at_Wilkes_landfill_East_Antarctica/19427801

Wilkes Station is an abandoned research station located on Clark Peninsula, East Antarctica that was constructed by the United States of America during the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958). In 1961, exclusive control of Wilkes Station transferred to the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions. Wilkes Station was abandoned by Australia in 1969, but was not completely decommissioned due to logistical constraints. Consequently the majority of buildings, equipment and a landfill remain on-site. Annex III of the Madrid Protocol (1998) establishes the requirement for all past and present work sites in Antarctica to be cleaned up by the generators and users of sites. In response, various remediation technologies are being adapted or developed for use at contaminated sites in Antarctica and are effective, despite the challenges associated with operating in remote, cold regions. Orthophosphate and silica treatments are two technologies that demonstrate significant potential for use at Wilkes Station and other contaminated sites in Antarctica. However, their application in areas of freezing ground remains understudied. This study assessed the performance of orthophosphate, silica and coupled orthophosphate-silica treatments on metal contaminated soil and soil co-contaminated with metals and petroleum hydrocarbons to evaluate their suitability for the management of environmental contaminants at Wilkes Station. The results of four experiments indicate that silica treatments are effective at immobilising Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, while orthophosphate and coupled-orthophosphate treatments effectively immobilise Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb, but are ineffective at immobilising Cr and Ni. None of the assessed treatments were effective at immobilising As, and concentrations of P remained above environmentally safe levels in soils where treatments containing orthophosphoric acid or triple superphosphate were applied. The formation of brushite, cattite, hydroxylapatite, hydroxypyromorphite, sodium aluminosilicates ...