Sala 03

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The aim of this course is to present the latest advancement in the applications of compound-specific isotopes analysis (CSIA) for characterization and remediation of contaminated sites, as well as environmental isotopes for hydrogoleogy studies. The potential audience includes environmental professionals, government scientists, regulators, environmental consultants, researchers, students and community stakeholders engaged in the management and remediation of contaminated sites.

COURSE OVERVIEW: Groundwater quality studies focus on understanding where contaminants come from and the transformations that they may experience in the subsurface geochemical environments. Environmental isotopes including compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) are one of the most growing tools applied in contaminant studies. The course will include an introduction about theory and background, followed by an extended presentation of several field case studies. The course will cover the application of environmental isotopes, 13C, 2H, 18O, 15N, 34S, 87Sr/86Sr, 37Cl, 81Br and Tritium, to trace the origin of contaminants and the attenuation processes that take place in the aquifer. The topics comprise groundwater pollution from agricultural sources (nitrate), industrial activities (e.g. LNAPLs, DNAPLs) as well as urban activities. Furthermore, the course is designed to present the latest advancement in 13C-CSIA, 37Cl-CSIA, 81Br-CSIA, and 2H-CSIA and the potential applications of CSIA, in an effort to better understand contaminated sites. Isotopes have been successfully used in determining the source of contaminations, understanding the fate of contaminants in the groundwater, and evaluating the effectiveness of remediation actions including the performance assessment for a broad range of biological (natural and enhanced), chemical (e.g., in situ chemical oxidation [ISCO] and permeable reactive barriers [PRB] and physical (e.g., thermal treatment and pump and treat) remediation strategies. The course will cover a number of case studies the employed the approach of two-dimensional CSIA in contaminated sites.