CLEANING UP CONTAMINATED SOIL COULD BE CHEAPER, EASIER WITH NEWLY PATENTED METHOD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 26, 1999

Fairbanks, Alaska - Two scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks have designed a patented method for removing organic contaminants from soil that could make it easier and cheaper to clean up polluted sites around the world.

Huan Luong, a research associate with the Water and Environmental Research Center, and Hsing Kuang "Steve" Lin, a professor in the Mineral Industry Research Laboratory, received a patent in January for a method of remediating soil tainted with organic compounds like pentachlorophenol (PCP) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB).

PCP is a suspected carcinogenic agent which historically was used to treat wood products to protect them from weathering. Typically, a mixture of diesel and PCPs would be used on fence posts and telephone poles. Contamination occurs in soil where the posts were sunk into the ground and also at sites where the PCP was made.

The compound PCB was also used as a preserving agent, but is considered much more harmful than PCP. PCB is a known carcinogen that was used historically to insulate electrical systems like transformers. Products using PCBs and PCPs are now banned in the U.S., but the energy consuming and expensive process to purge these contaminants from soil and water continues.

PCP and PCB-polluted soil must be excavated then shipped to a facility where it is incinerated at such a high temperature the contaminants' molecular structure is

broken down into harmless waste products.

Lin's and Luong's method is less expensive and can be done on site. Instead of burning the contaminated soil, it is remediated by adding oxidants and reductants to form a slurry- a solution similar to a mud pie- where the contaminants' molecular structure is broken down. When the oxidants and reductants combine, they create "free radicals" which break down contaminants into harmless waste products. In addition to being less expensive and easier to use than the current industry standard, the new method also allows scientists more control over the process, making reclamation efforts safer and less energy-intensive.

The scientists have proven the technique works in the lab, but now they have to test it in the field. Lin and Luong will test samples solicited from clean-up sites listed by the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.

Several companies have shown interest in using less-expensive soil remediation methods like the one developed by Lin and Luong, although none have used the patented process yet. Until they do, the scientists want to make sure other UAF scientists will be able to conduct research like theirs. The two have pledged to donate 10 percent of the proceeds received from their patent to the Carol Feist Endowment Fund, which provides financial support for science research and education at UAF.

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CONTACT: Water and Environmental Research Center Research Associate Huan Luong at 907-474-7350 or Jillian Swope, University Relations, at 907-474-7778.

JCS/3-26-99/99-058