KORA Retention and Degradation Processes to Reduce Contaminants in Groundwater and Soil

Country: Germany
Start Date:           Duration: 60 months         Project Type: RTD
Contract Number: 
Organisation Type:  Agency, regulator or other governmental or inter-governmental body
Topics: 
Contaminated land-->Remediation options-->MNA
Project objectives:
A scientifically based, appropriate and, above all, in the long term effective treatment of soil and groundwater pollutants requires a better understanding 
of natural degradation and retention than has been the case in the past. Furthermore it is also necessary to evaluate these effects and to make use of the information
thus gained for both hazard assessment and remediation processes. The aim of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's KORA funding priority is to show under which conditions pollutants can be retained and degraded,
and how these processes can be reliably measured, assessed, monitored and utilised. In addition, it is intended to obtain a series of standard solutions that
show how natural attenuation can be taken into account in the assessment of hazards emanating from contaminated groundwater and soils in the analysis and implementation of remediation processes in the analysis and implementation of post clean up measures. The over 60 projects of this funding priority will be carried out at a wide range of sites using different methods. They are divided into eight Thematic Networks,
each with its own coordinator. The first six thematic networks cover pollutants typical for a particular industry and thematic networks seven and eight are
concerned with wider-ranging aspects. The products of the thematic networks 1 to 6 are sector guidelines, which should allow an assessment of the potential
for natural retention and degradation processes for the group of pollutants or a combination of pollutants under investigation in different locations. Thematic
networks 7 and 8 will provide chapters for the recommendation handbook written from an interdisciplinary point of view. The KORA Management is charged with actively supporting all participants in the funding priority. They should promote the collaboration of the individual
thematic networks to present a joint recommendation handbook and compile this using the knowledge and experience gained in the funding priority. Furthermore,
the general public should be kept informed about the results of the funding priority through appropriate public relations work.
Project Summary:
In recent years it has become obvious how important knowledge of natural attenuation processes is with regard to the management of contaminated sites. In Germany, 
there are three reasons why these processes should be investigated in more detail: First, more and more contaminated sites have been identified in Germany. Moreover, the size of known contaminated sites had to be increased, often in all
three dimensions due to the use of new methods of site investigation Secondly, national and international experience has shown that often conventional remediation technologies merely shift the problem (e.g. 'dig and dump')
or are not effective within reasonable periods of time (e.g. 'pump-and-treat'). Additionally, the expenses of implementing these technologies often are
in no relation to the actual value of the site. Thirdly, new investigations have come up with evidence of intrinsic degradation and retention processes at a site being more effective than artificial
processes induced by technical remediation measures. Among others, this is true for bio­augmentation: Specialised microorganisms are only effective in
raising intrinsic degradation rates in the short term.
Achieved Objectives:

            
Product Descriptions:

            
Additional Information:

            
Project Resources:
Weblink:
http://natural-attenuation.de
Funding Programme(s): 
National programme - details yet to be uploaded
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Dr Stefan Gödeke  Who does what?  26/05/2005 09:04:00
Updated by: EUGRIS Team Professor Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/10/2006 12:20:00