Remediation of heavy metal contaminated soils using PVDs

The major industrial complex has been situated since the late 1960s along the coastal area of Incheon where is 15km west of Seoul, Korea. With increasing the population of Incheon Metropolitan City, the site of industrial complex is becoming the residential or commercial areas. Recently, Shin et al. (2004) reported that these lands are very much contaminated with heavy metals like Pb, Cu, and Cd. The feasibility of using prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) for remediation of heavy metal contaminated sites with fine-grained soils is presented. The use of PVDs under vacuum conditions is investigated using sample soil consisting of silty soils. The results of the laboratory tests indicated that the factors contributing to the measured pressure heads were analyzed. It is concluded that the discharge capacity, gas permeability and the ratio of the radius to radius of influence are the most significant parameters.