ABSTRACT
A g rea t deal o f a tten tio n has b een g iven to finding co s t e ffec tive m e th o d s to rem ed ia te co n tam in ated sites. W hile it is desirab le to d e s tro y co n tam in an ts e ith er in situ o r o f f site, p rac tica l, eco n o m ic o p tio n s a re o ften n o t available. F o r exam ple , p as t ex p erien ce w ith p um p and tre a t te ch n o lo g y has o ften b een d isap p o in tin g b ecau se th e s low re lease o f ad so rb ed co n tam in an ts in to th e g ro u n d w a te r n ecessita tes m any y ea rs o f ac tiv e trea tm en t. A lternatively , in c in era tio n o f co n tam in a ted soil and g ro u n d w a te r a t la rg e sites is o ften ex pensive and resu lts in a tm o sp h e ric releases. In ligh t o f th e lim ita tions o f rela tively co stly ac tiv e m eth o d s, b a rrie r te ch n iq u es th a t p ro v id e th e p o ten tia l fo r lo n g te rm co n ta in m en t o f th e co n tam in an ts and w aste s in th e sub su rface a re receiv ing in c reased a tten tio n . O n e o f th o se m e th o d s is th e u se o f en hanced env iro n m en ta l b arriers.
