Remediation of an area in the premises of a former asphalt plant of bituminous mixtures in Milevsko

In nearly one year, the contamination of a temporary landfill was definitively disposed of, as well as contaminated soils, and the water in a former asphalt plant, locating north of the town of Milevsko, was purified. During the operation of the asphalt plant, the unsaturated zone and subsequently groundwater and surface water had become contaminated particularly by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), which were used for heating mixtures. These substances were gradually released into the surroundings of the asphalt plant, into the surface water of the Váša Fishpond. The first remediation work began as early as 1994, but had only a temporary character.

Before the excavation of contaminated soils in 2017, the whole site was properly samples. For a faster orientation of the extent of contamination in the whole premises, the field method of PCB measurement was applied using an ELISA kit and subsequently verification took place in the laboratory. After delineating the extent of contamination, the soils were excavated from ditches and from the temporary landfill. When excavation work was carried out, it was assumed that the substances containing PCB would be released into the water environment. A temporary remediation station was established for treating abstracted groundwater using a unique technology of a nanocarbon sorption column for removing PCB. Using this technology, a greater efficiency of removal of the above-mentioned contaminant is achieved than using common activated carbon.