Sanitation dry cleaning Schaedla

The Schaedla dry cleaner was in operation from 1907-1973. After the plant was closed down, the site was rezoned and a retirement home and residential buildings were built. After significantly elevated concentrations of CFCs were detected in the vicinity of the now overbuilt site, the city of Heidelberg commissioned IBL GmbH to investigate the hydrogeological situation in order to determine the extent of groundwater contamination.

First steps towards risk assessment

Based on the analysis results, the centre of the damage could be determined. The concentrations of LCKW here were up to 19,000 mg/m³. Based on the results of the detailed investigation by IBL GmbH, two soil air purification systems were installed and put into operation. The step-by-step investigation of the contaminant plume and numerical groundwater modelling illustrated the transport path of the contaminant in the groundwater.

Services:

• Detailed/remedial investigation
• Setting up wells to the base of the aquifer
• Carrying out pumping tests
• Assessment of the extent of the plume
• Estimation of the total pollutant input
• Remediation survey
• Representation and analysis in a Geographical Information System (GIS)

Groundwater remediation

At the beginning of the groundwater remediation, 125 m³ of water was extracted every hour from the 13 remediation wells, cleaned via wet activated carbon and filtered back into the groundwater. IBL monitors the progress of the remediation by means of groundwater monitoring (regular sampling, key date measurements, chemical analyses), which is carried out at approx. 50 wells in the inflow, in the source of damage, in the side stream and in the near and further downstream. As the plume extends over several groundwater levels, monitoring is carried out both at shallow wells up to a depth of approx. 10 m and at deep wells with a depth of up to 50 m.