Summary Working in conjunction with the client’s consultant Environ, VertaseFLI undertook the remediation works of groundwater contamination consisting of chlorinated solvents. The site is the Former Wickes Store located in Harlow, which is to be redeveloped for light industrial units. The contaminants present are degraded under anaerobic conditions, therefore a remediation scheme was designed using Hydrogen Release Compound (HRC) to accelerate the rate of natural degradation. It was decided that the most suitable remediation strategy would be to inject a mixture of HRC, HRCX and primer into the plume area.
Hydrogen Release Compund HRC (hydrogen release compound) is a non toxic compound that slowly releases hydrogen into the surrounding groundwater. The hydrogen reacts with any oxygen, creating anaerobic conditions. Once anaerobic conditions are created, natural bacteria are capable of degrading the contamination into harmless products. HRC is a viscous solution with a consistency similar to honey, therefore requires heating to aid injection. The HRC was therefore slowly heated in a bath to 200 prior to injection. A total of 90 injection points were drilled to between 4 and 5m through made ground, using an injection rig with 90 degree injection bit, coupled with a high pressure GS2000 pressure pump. | 
