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Maximize Savings and Minimize Air Pollution with On-Site Manufacturing of Embankment Soils

What Was the Need?

Accidental spill of chemicals and subsequently contamination of nearby soil is a common phenomenon for Texas roads and highways. In order to comply with the environmental regulations, a large quantity of project soil is not allowed for use. Typically, the contaminated soil is first segregated and then trucked offsite to an authorized landfill or a recycling facility. This process is costly in many ways.

Project Summary

In this study, this process of complete removal of contaminated soil will be compared with other two alternative solutions in which the soil will be remediated on-site following the most economical solution to achieve two different cleanup goals. Then a cost-benefit analysis will be conducted to evaluate which solution would support sustainable economic growth. In this analysis, along with the direct cost involved with any particular alternative other impacts due to environmental, social, and economical factors will also be considered. A decision making tool to select a cleanup technology for highest value for on-site remediation will also be developed based on several factors, such as type of contaminants, extent of contamination, geology and soils, topography and landform, climate and meteorology, time required for cleanup, and cleanup goals. In addition, a specification of the remediated soil will also be developed to reuse it for roadway construction based on TxDOT engineering standards and TxDOT’s material specification guidelines for evaluating and using non-hazardous recyclable materials (DMS 11000, Evaluating and Using Non-hazardous Recyclable Materials Guidelines). Finally, the cost-benefit analysis of different alternatives and the specification of remediated soil will be presented to TCEQ for regulatory approval.

Project Number

0-6928

Status

Terminated

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Project Details

Start Date

9/1/2016

End Date

5/31/2017

Performing Institution(s)

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)

Research Team

RS: Sazzad Bin-Shafique

Sponsor

Project Manager

Darrin Jensen

Contract Specialist

Annette Trevino

Amount Funded

FY17: $97,835
FY18: $66,851

Publications from this Project

Publications Note

This project did not produce a technical report deliverable.

More TxDOT Projects Like This

Functional Area

Planning and Environmental

Index Terms

Soil remediation
Air quality management
Pollution control
Spills (Pollution)
Chemical spills
Contaminants
Waste disposal
Embankments
Benefit cost analysis

Lead University

UTSA

Researcher

Bin-Shafique, Sazzad, 1965-

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Record Added:

2/15/2017

Record Updated:

7/22/2023 5:36 AM EDT

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