Contaminated Site -

Margaretsville
(Metal Impacted Soil)
1. General Information
The purpose of this study is to conduct
an analysis of the environmental
remediation options using the
Sustainable Development Analysis Tool
(SDAT) provided by the Public Services
and Procurement Canada (PSPC)

The contaminated site is in

Margaretsville, Nova Scotia, Canada

The coordinates for the site are:

Latitude 45.05 and for Longitude: -
65.06.
 2. Site Description
The Contaminated Site 02611001 is a Medium Priority
for Action with the Site Status Active.
As for the Scenario, it would be Scenario B:
Contamination of the vadose zone only with the Primary
contaminant type being: Metal, metalloid, and
organometallic.
Since the Scenario is the vadoze only, the soil type is Clay
and Silt with a Medium depth of 3 to 10m.
The estimated dimension of the contaminated site is 46
cubic meters.
3. Technology Section
In this stage, 3 remediation technology options have been selected that are compared in order
to achieve the project objectives based on the information from the Site Description.
The various remediation technology used are: 1. Excavation and soil disposal
2. In Situ bioremediation
3. In Situ Solidification/Stabilization
3.1 Excavation and soil disposal

The excavation and soil disposal technology involves

removing contaminated soil from a site in order to
dispose of it at a landfill site. The removed soil is most
often replaced with backfill.

Effectiveness: 100%
 3.2 In Situ bioremediation
Bioventing is a technique that makes it possible to aerate soil in order to stimulate the indigenous
microflora with the goal of promoting bioremediation of residual contamination in the vadose zone. This
technique is suitable for all chemical compounds that are biodegradable under aerobic conditions (in the
presence of oxygen). With a bioventing system, the objective is to enhance biodegradation by injecting air,
while minimizing hydrocarbon volatilization. The rate of air injection or extraction is therefore calculated
to provide only the quantity of air required for the biodegradation processes. This technology also includes
the injection of nutrients to effectively support the various biodegradation reactions.
Bioventing can be carried out in air-injection or -extraction mode. Air injection is less costly than air
extraction since treating the vapours is not necessary in this case. However, air injection is not advisable
when buildings or underground infrastructure are present or when a certain fraction of the contaminant
mixture is volatile.

Effectiveness: 50%
 3.3 In Situ bioremediation
In situ solidification involves mixing a binding agent with the soil or injecting it using a
high-pressure injection system to force the binder into the soil. Solidification of materials
refers to the change in the physical properties of the soil after the addition of a binding
agent, which compacts the matrix, changes the size of the material’s pores and reduces
hydraulic conductivity. The contaminants are then trapped in the soil/stabilizer mixture.
Stabilization refers to the chemical change of the contaminated substances within the
matrix. The contaminant will be transformed into a form or product with much lower
water solubility, mobility or toxicity. In certain situations, a binding agent may be added to
the mixture to optimize the stabilization.

Effectiveness: 50%
4. Selection and weighting of indicators
In this stage, there are a set of indicators grouped into the following three dimensions:
 Environmental
 Social
 Economic
There are qualitative indicators (e.g. soil quality) and
quantitative indicators (e.g. cost), and each type has a
different evaluation mode.
For each of the 3 dimensions, there must be determined
whether the indicators are applicable. The applicability of the
indicators is evaluated based on the knowledge of the site, the
key stakeholders and their respective demands, as well as the project objectives.
4.1 Environmental Dimension Inputs
Indicator Environmental Combined Option 1 Score Option 2 Option 3
dimension score out of 100 Score out of Score out of
points 100 points 100 points

ENV-01 Soil quality 3 100 0 50

ENV-02 Soil vapour intrusion 2 100 50 50
ENV-03 Groundwater quality 3 0 0 50
ENV-04 Free product 2 33 0 33
ENV-05 Surface water quality 3 100 0 50

ENV-06 Impact on drinking 3 100 0 66

water supply
ENV-07 Off-site migration 2 100 0 100
ENV-08 Quality of physical 2 33 66 0
environment
ENV-09 Impacts on terrestrial 3 0 100 0
life (fauna and flora)

ENV-10 Impacts on aquatic life 3 66 66 66

(fauna and flora)
ENV-11 Greenhouse gas 3 0 66 66
emissions (GHG)
ENV-12 Residual waste 3 0 100 0
production
ENV-13 Natural resources 3 0 66 33
ENV-14 Energy consumption 2 0 66 66
ENV-15 Water consumption 3 66 66 66
4.2 Social Dimension Inputs
Indicator Social dimension Combined Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
score Score out of Score out of Score out of
100 points 100 points 100 points

SOC-01 Safety of public and 3 33 66 33

workers

SOC-02 Project duration 1 100 33 100

SOC-03 Quality of life 3 0 100 33

(during the project)

SOC-04 Public benefits 3 50 50 50

SOC-05 Cultural heritage 1 0 100 50

SOC-06 Federal 3 50 100 100

government’s image

SOC-07 Traffic 1 0 66 66

SOC-08 Impact on landscape 3 0 66 33

SOC-09 Innovation 1 50 50 50
4.3 Economic Dimension Inputs
Indicator Economic Combined Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
dimension score Score out of Score out of Score out of
100 points 100 points 100 points

ECONO- Technology cost 3 33 66 66

01

ECONO- Litigation potential 3 50 100 50

02

ECONO- Nuisance to normal 1 33 100 50

03 operations

ECONO- Property reuse 2 100 0 50

04

ECONO- Environmental 3 50 100 50

05 reserve

ECONO- Local economic 3 0 100 50

06 benefits

ECONO- Technical reliability 1 100 33 100

07 (M&R)

ECONO- Logistics 2 0 50 50
08

ECONO- Technological 2 100 100 66

09 uncertainty
5. Conclusions
Option 1: Excavation and soil disposal

Option 2: In Situ bioremediation

Option 3: In Situ Solidification/Stabilization

From our analysis, we can see that Option 2 has the best
performances in the Social and Economic dimensions and in the
Environmental one is slightly behind Option 1 and 3 which are at a
tie.