ABSTRACT
The remediation of sediments may be required when the sediment leads to the accumulation of contaminants in aquatic life or when the release of hazardous materials from sediments becomes a serious problem. For example, the sediment quality criterion for this threshold point may be described as the frequent effective level (e.g., FEL, Environment Canada and Ministère du Développement Durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs du Québec, 2007). The frequent effective level (FEL) can be dened as the concentration of the element or compound that frequently gives toxic effects to aquatic life. Beyond the FEL, aquatic life cannot appropriately be protected. Therefore, a remediation technique, such as capping, dredging, or physical, biological and/or chemical treatment, has to be considered. In this chapter, in situ remediation techniques and the management of contaminated sediments will be described. Frequently, only about 10% of the sediments in an area are contaminated. Thus in situ remediation could be benecial over dredging due to a reduction in costs and the need for solid disposal. It could also potentially be a more permanent solution. Therefore, there is a growing acceptance that large volumes in particular can be managed through in situ techniques (Forstner and Apitz, 2007).
