Project

4036

Chief Investigator

SPEDDING, Mr Timothy (Tim) - Australian Antarctic Division

Title

Remediation of petroleum contaminants in the Antarctic and subantarctic

Project aims

Fuel contamination poses a major threat to Antarctic ecosystems as fuel is persistent & potentially toxic in the environment. Natural attenuation in Antarctica is slow with intervention required to minimise environmental damage. In temperate regions a variety of remediation schemes are commonly used to clean up fuel spills. This research program began in 2000 to undertake research & modification for effective remediation in the Antarctic & subantarctic. This project will complete the final stage of implementation, risk assessment & monitoring of full scale remediation operations.

Project gallery


Project Summary of the Season 2012/13

The project work plan was restructured to enable the team Casey Station field team to respond to the discovery of a new fuel spill at the Casey Station Emergency Powerhouse, and capitalize on logistic and human resource capability for field deployment across other sites at Davis and Macquarie Island.

At Casey: the spill at the EPH was assessed and excavated. A new biopile (1 of up to 4) was constructed, and a first response permeable reactive barrier was installed.

At Macquarie Island: nutrient management continued; and the air sparge array was relocated as planned.

At Davis Station: biopiles were sampled.

Project Summary of the Season 2013/14

Continued success in advancements of remediation techniques in both sub Antarctic and Antarctic conditions have occurred over the last 12 months. Biodegradation results of hydrocarbons in biopiles at Casey continue to demonstrate in-situ remediation is progressing. Macquarie Island remediation techniques clearly demonstrate improved levels compared to unremediated zones. The Remediation Teams continued active contributions both locally and internationally contributed towards unanimous acceptance of the Contaminated Site Assessment Checklist as part of the Cleanup Manual, at the 17th meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP).

Project Summary of the Season 2014/15

Continued success in advancements of remediation techniques in both sub Antarctic and Antarctic conditions have occurred over the last 12 months. Biodegradation results of hydrocarbons in biopiles at Casey continue to demonstrate in-situ remediation is progressing. Macquarie Island remediation techniques clearly demonstrate improved levels compared to un-remediated zones. Contaminated soil at Davis Station was successfully remediated and approved for reuse as construction material. Furthermore, for the first time, 4 biopiles at Casey were consolidated as part of the next stage of the remediation project to allow further enhancement of remediation processes. In the process of consolidating the biopiles, detailed scientific sampling was conducted on the liners used to contain the contaminated soil. Results will provide insight into the effectiveness and long term application of engineered liners systems in freezing conditions, which will be the first data derived from the applied use of liners in Antarctica. In addition, new remediation technologies using open topped shipping containers, modified to enhance soil bioremediation, were implemented at Casey and Macquarie Island. These modular containerized soil remediation systems provide the opportunity to quickly respond to and manage small to medium sized volumes of contaminated soil.

The Remediation Teams continued active contributions both locally and internationally and contributed to 2 remediation papers as part of Australia's submission at the 18th meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP).

Project Summary of the Season 2015/16

The remediation project is now actively researching and remediating 4 of the 5 fuel spills detailed in the 2012 application (Macquarie Island (3 spills), Old Casey Station (1 spill), Casey MPH) and a further 3 newer spills (Casey EPH, Casey Flange and Davis (remediation completed and undergoing final risk assessment). This year, key project learning's from PRB research and implementation at Casey from over the last 10 years were essential in supporting a spill response (to protect human health and environment) and allowed for the subsequent continuation of the Casey Utility Building (CUB) construction. Furthermore, a major milestone was reached this year in that remediated soil from two biopiles was reused on station at Casey following a detailed and use-specific human and environmental risk assessment. As such approx. 30% of the soil in the biopiles was remediated to the level suitable for reuse for the prescribed purpose. Excess soil remains in biopiles for continued remediation consistent with the estimated timeframe for staged release of soil for the project. The PRB at Macquarie Island was sampled, maintained and monitored with PHD research to be completed and submitted in 16/17.

Several key scientific papers that summarise findings from remediation activities associated with this project, in particular regarding the success of using biopiles to remediate soil under Antarctic conditions, site and use-specific reuse of remediated soil at Casey and engineered liner containment and cover systems, will be submitted to scientific journals this year. In conjunction with publication of journal papers, data and risk assessment summaries will be provided to the Strategies Branch to inform the ATCM and Committee of Environmental Protection.

Project Summary of the Season 2016/17

The project is now actively researching and remediating 4 of the 5 fuel spills detailed in the 2012 application (Macquarie Island (3 spills), Old Casey Station (1 spill), Casey MPH) as well as 3 newer spills (Casey EPH, Casey Flange and Davis (remediation completed and undergoing final risk assessment)). This year, key project learning's from biopile research and implementation at Casey from the last 5 years were essential in supporting the successful construction of a 55 m long biopile for remediating soil from the 2015 EPH flange spill. Extensive excavations were carried out up-gradient of the Casey Utility Building (CUB) to remove fuel contaminated soil which is being remediated in the new biopile. Building on capabilities from last season, the containerised water treatment system was retrofitted, with larger media columns and several new components. This significantly increased water treatment efficiency and facilitated research into biologically activated carbon water treatment, with positive environmental outcomes for managing the EPH flange spill response. PRB research findings over the last 10 years have facilitated the installation of a replacement PRB next to the quarry road, down gradient of un-excavated contaminated soil from the 2012 and 2015 EPH spill events.

Several key scientific papers have been published that summarise findings from remediation activities associated with this project. We reported on the success of using biopiles to remediate large quantities of soil in Antarctica (a world first). Research has also been published on our engineered liner containment and cover systems. In conjunction with publication of journal papers, data and risk assessment summaries will be provided to the Strategies Branch to inform the ATCM and Committee of Environmental Protection.

Final Summary of Project Achievements

Project 4036 has successfully developed robust techniques for responding to and remediating fuel spills in the Antarctic and subantarctic. Hydrocarbon contaminated soil from a number of spill sites has been successfully remediated, and has been reused in restricted capacities following individual risk assessments. Research conducted with national and international collaborators has been communicated via peer-reviewed scientific publications, CEP publications, conferences, workshops, webinars, and through school outreach activities. Data and risk assessment summaries have been provided to the AAD Strategies branch and to the AAD Environmental Performance Committee to help minimise the impact of petroleum hydrocarbons on the Antarctic environment. Due to an increase in workload (number of fuel spills within scope) through the life of project 4036, some milestones are still being finalised. The new project AAS 4503 will continue this work in conjunction with a new set of deliverables.

Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature

Mooney T.J., King C.K., Wasley J., Andrew N.R. (2013) Toxicity of diesel contaminated soils to the subantarctic earthworm Microscolex macquariensis, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 32(2). 370-377; [Ref: 15299]

Winsley T., Snape I., McKinlay J., Stark J., van Dorst J.M., Ji M., Ferrari B.C., Siciliano S.D. (2014) The ecological controls on the prevalence of candidate division TM7 in polar regions, Frontiers in Microbiology 5. 1-10; [Ref: 15450]

Mumford K.A., Powell S.M., Rayner J.L., Hince G., Snape I., Stevens G.W. (2015) Evaluation of a permeable reactive barrier to capture and degrade hydrocarbon contaminants, Environmental Science and Pollution Research 16. 12298-12308; [Ref: 15586]

Dynes J.J., Regier T.Z., Snape I., Siciliano S.D., Peak D. (2014) Validating the Scalability of Soft X-ray Spectromicroscopy for Quantitative Soil Ecology and Biogeochemistry Research, Environmental Science and Technology 49. 1035-1042; [Ref: 15588]

Whelan M.J., Coulon F., Hince G., Rayner J., McWatters R.S., Spedding T., Snape I. (2015) Fate and transport of petroleum hydrocarbons in engineered biopiles in polar regions, Chemosphere 131. 232-240; [Ref: 15589]

Gore D.B., Snape I. (2014) 50 kGy of gamma irradiation does not affect the leachability of mineral soils and sediments, Powder Diffraction 29(S1). S40-S46; [Ref: 15590]

Filler D.M., Kennicutt II M.C., Snape I., Sweet S.T., Klein A.G. (2015) Arctic and Antarctic Spills, in: Fingas M. (ed.) Handbook of Oil Spill Science and Technology Ch. 21. 495-512; [Ref: 15591]

Freidman B.L., Terry D., Wilkins D., Spedding T., Gras S.L., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2017) Permeable bio-reactive barriers to address petroleum hydrocarbon contamination at subantarctic Macquarie Island, Chemosphere 174. 408-420; [Ref: 15822]

Freidman B.L., Northcott K.A., Thiel P., Gras S.L., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2017) From urban municipalities to polar bioremediation: the characterisation and contribution of biogenic minerals for water treatment, Journal of Water and Health wh2017019; [Ref: 15823]

Freidman B.L., Gras S.L., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2017) A bio-reactive barrier sequence for petroleum hydrocarbon capture and degradation in low nutrient environments, International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 116. 26-37; [Ref: 15824]

Freidman B.L., Gras S.L., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2016) The performance of ammonium exchanged zeolite for the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons migrating in soil water, Journal of hazardous materials 313. 272-282; [Ref: 15825]

Freidman B.L., Gras S.L., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2016) Effects of freeze-thaw phenomena on controlled nutrient release: Application to bioremediation, CLEAN-Soil, Air, Water 44(12). 1739-1749; [Ref: 15826]

Freidman B.L., Gras S.L., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2016) Application of controlled nutrient release to permeable reactive barriers, Journal of Environmental Management 169. 145-154; [Ref: 15827]

Statham T.M., Stark S.C., Snape I., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2016) A permeable reactive barrier (PRB) media sequence for the remediation of heavy metal and hydrocarbon contaminated water: A field assessment at Casey Station, Antarctica, Chemosphere 147. 368-375; [Ref: 15828]

Errington I., King C.K., Wilkins D., Spedding T., Hose G.C. (2018) Ecosystem effects and the management of petroleum-contaminated soils on subantarctic islands, Chemosphere 194. 200-210; [Ref: 15976]

Errington I., King C.K., Houlahan S., George S.C., Michie A., Hose G.C. (2018) The influence of vegetation and soil properties on springtail communities in diesel-contaminated soil, Science of the Total Environment 619. 1098-1104; [Ref: 15977]

Ma J., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2018) The effect of temperature on hydrocarbon adsorption by diphenyldichlorosilane coated zeolite and its application in permeable reactive barriers in cold regions, Cold Regions Science and Technology 145. 169-176; [Ref: 16008]

Northcott K., Friedman C.L., Stevens G., Snape I., Mumford K.A. (2016) Research and Industry Partnerships in Polar Regions Science: Implications for Municipal and Environmental Water Treatment, Water e-Journal .; [Ref: 16009]

Ma J., Stevens G.W., Mumford K.A. (2018) The effect of temperature on hydrocarbon adsorption by diphenyldichlorosilane coated zeolite and its application in permeable reactive barriers in cold regions, Cold Regions Science and Technology 169-176; [Ref: 16039]

Chong C.W., Silvaraj S., Supramaniam Y., Snape I., Tan I.K.P. (2018) Effect of temperature on bacterial community in petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated and uncontaminated Antarctic soil, Polar Biology 1763-1775; [Ref: 16040]

Pudasaini S., Wilson J., Ji M., van Dorst J., Snape I., Palmer A.S., Burns B.P., Ferrari B. (2017) Microbial Diversity of Browning Peninsula Eastern Antarctica Revealed Using Molecular and Cultivation Methods, Frontiers in Microbiology 14pp; [Ref: 16052]

van Dorst J., Wilkins D., King C.K., Spedding T., Hince G., Zhang E., Crane S., Ferrari B.C. (2020) Applying microbial indicators of hydrocarbon toxicity to contaminated sites undergoing bioremediation on subantarctic Macquarie Island, Environmental Pollution 259 113780. .; [Ref: 16297]

Pudasaini S., Wilkins D., Adler L., Hince G., Spedding T., King C., Ferrari B. (2019) Characterization of polar metabolites and evaluation of their potential toxicity in hydrocarbon contaminated Antarctic soil elutriates, Science of the Total Environment 689: 390-397; [Ref: 16300]

Crane S.L., van Dorst J., Hose G.C., King C.K., Ferrari B.C. (2018) Microfluidic qPCR enables high throughput quantification of microbial functional genes but requires strict curation of primers, Frontiers in Environmental Science 6. 1-14; [Ref: 16304]

Raymond T., King C.K., Raymond B., Stark J.S, Snape I. (2016) Oil Pollution in Antarctica In Fingas M (Ed), Oil Spill Science and Technology 2nd edition Gulf Professional Publishing 759-803; [Ref: 16313]

King C.K., Wasley J., Holan J., Richardson J., Spedding T. (2020) Using an expert judgement response matrix to assess the risk of groundwater discharges from remediated fuel spill sites to the marine environment at sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 17(4) 785-801; [Ref: 16421]

Di Battista V., Rowe K.R., McWatters R.S. (2022) Field and laboratory investigation of factors affecting GCL performance in the Antarctic environment, Canadian Geotechnical Journal .; [Ref: 16656]

King C.K., Wasley J., Holan J., Richardson J., Spedding T. (2021) Using an expert judgment response matrix to assess the risk of groundwater discharges from remediated fuel spill sites to the marine environment at sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, Australia, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management .; [Ref: 16671]

Carnero-Guzman G.G., Bouazza A., Gates W.P., Rowe R.K., McWatters R.S. (2021) Hydration/dehydration behaviour of geosynthetic clay liners in the Antarctic environment, Geotextiles and Geomembranes .; [Ref: 16793]

McWatters R.S., Rowe R.K., Wilkins D., Spedding T., Jones D., Wise L., Mets J., Terry D., Hince G., Gates W.P., Di Battista V. (2016) Geosynthetics in Antarctica: Performance of a composite barrier system to contain hydrocarbon-contaminated soil after three years in the field, Geotextiles and Geomembranes .; [Ref: 16859]

McWatters R.S., Wilkins D., Spedding T., Hince G., Raymond B., Lagerewskij G., Terry D., Wise L., Snape I. (2016) On site remediation of a fuel spill and soil reuse in Antarctica, Science of The Total Environment .; [Ref: 16860]

McWatters R.S., Rowe R.K., Wilkins D., Spedding T., Hince G., Richardson J. (2019) Modelling of vapour intrusion into a building impacted by a fuel spill in Antarctica, Journal of Environmental Management .; [Ref: 16861]

McWatters R.S., Rowe R.K., Di Battista V., Sfiligoj B.J., Wilkins D., Spedding T. (2019) Exhumation and performance of an Antarctic composite barrier system after 4 years exposure, Canadian Geotechnical Journal .; [Ref: 16862]

Abdullah K., Wilkins D., Ferrari B.C. (2023) Utilization of—Omic technologies in cold climate hydrocarbon bioremediation: a text-mining approach, Frontiers in Microbiology .; [Ref: 16865]

Richardson E.L., King C.K., Powell S.M. (2014) The Use of Microbial Gene Abundance in the Development of Fuel Remediation Guidelines in Polar Soils, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 11(2). 235-241; [Ref: 15472]

Arbel J., King C.K., Raymond B., Winsley T., Mengersen K.L. (2015) Application of a Bayesian nonparametric model to derive toxicity estimates based on the response of Antarctic microbial communities to fuel-contaminated soil, Ecology and Evolution 5(13). 2633-2645; [Ref: 15786]

Category 2: International meeting papers

McIvor E., King C., Spedding T. (2022) Update on current initiatives for a more structured sample and data collection of environmental contamination in the Antarctic, ATCM XLIV - CEP XXIV Berlin, Germany 23 May - 2 June 2022, Delegations of Germany, Italy, Australia, United Kingdom, United States of America and Sweden (AAD authors only listed) IP007 rev. 1, Agenda Item CEP 11; [Ref: 16978]

Category 3: Conference paper

King C., Wasley J., Richardson J. (2023) Environmental Protection of sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island: Derivation and application of site-specific Environmental Guidelines for soils at remediated fuel spill sites, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Australasia 2023 Conference, Source to Sink: Engaging with Stakeholders to Protect Our Environment, 7 – 10 August 2023, Townsville, Queensland .; [Ref: 17018]

Mumford K.A., Stevens G.W., Snape I., Rayner J.L., Gore D.B. (2010) Permeable bio-reactive barriers for hydrocarbon remediation in Antarctica, Contaminants in Freezing Ground: proceedings of the 7th International Conference May 24-28 Kingston, Ontario, Canada .; [Ref: 14233]

Category 3: Poster

Richardson E.L., Powell S.M., King C.K. (2013) Microbes as indicators of soil health in Antarctica, Strategic Science in Antarctica Conference, Hobart, Australia, 24-26 June 2013 .; [Ref: 15543]

Mooney T.J., King C.M., Wasley J., Raymond B., Andrew N.R. (2013) Springtail community response to petroleum hydrocarbons in subantarctic soils, Strategic Science in Antarctica Conference, Hobart, Australia, 24-26 June 2013 .; [Ref: 15544]

Nydahl A., Robinson S.A., Jolley D., King C.K., Wasley J. (2013) Sensitivity and response of Antarctic moss, terrestrial algae and cyanobacteria to fuel contamination, Strategic Science in Antarctica Conference, Hobart, Australia, 24-26 June 2013 .; [Ref: 15452]

Macoustra G.K., Jolley D.F., Robinson S.A., King C.K., Wasley J. (2013) Development of soil remediation guidelines for Macquarie island: sensitivity assessment of germination in native subantarctic flora, Strategic Science in Antarctica Conference, Hobart, Australia, 24-26 June 2013 .; [Ref: 15453]

Category 3: Thesis, higher degree

Mooney T. (2013) Response of soil invertebrates to petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils at Macquarie Island, PhD Thesis, University of New England, Australia 147pp; [Ref: 15300]

Nydahl A. (2013) Sensitivity and Response of Antarctic Moss and Terrestrial Algae to Fuel Contamination, Bachelor of Conservation Biology Advanced (Honours), University of Wollongong, Australia 93pp; [Ref: 15303]

Macoustra G. (2013) The inhibitory effects of petroleum hydrocarbons on the growth of selected Macquarie Island plant species, Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Wollongong, Australia 81pp; [Ref: 15304]

Richardson E.L. (2013) Changes in microbial functional genes as indicators of soil health and their response to fuel contamination in Antarctica, Thesis, Bachelor of Science with Honours, University of Tasmania, Tasmania 76pp; [Ref: 15542]

Category 3: Verbal presentation

Ferrari B.C., van Dorst J., Hince G., Crane S., Montgomery K., Snape I., King C.K. (2016) Microbial communities as indicators of anthropogenic and natural disturbances to Antarctica and subantarctic Macquarie Island, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Australasia Conference, Hobart, Australia, 4-7 October 2016 .; [Ref: 15816]

Mooney T.J., King C.K., Wasley J., Andrew N.R. (2009) Soil invertebrate community response to petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants in sub-Antarctic soils over an organic carbon gradient, 13th Australasian Society for Ecotoxicology (ASE) Conference, 20-23 September 2009, Adelaide, Australia .; [Ref: 15545]

Mooney T.J., King C.K., Wasley J., Andrew N.R. (2011) Collembola community response to petroleum hydrocarbon contaminants in sub-Antarctic soils over an organic carbon gradient, Ecological Society of Australia 2011 annual meeting: 'Ecology in Changing Landscapes'. Hobart, Australia, 21-25 November 2011 .; [Ref: 15546]

Jolley D.F., Macoustra G.K., Nydahl A., Robinson S.A., King C.K., Wasley J., Wise L. (2014) Sensitivity and Response of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Species to Fuel Contamination, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Asia Pacific and Australasia Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, 14-17 September 2014 .; [Ref: 15454]

McWatters R.S., Rowe K., Jones D. (2015) Co-Extruded Geomembranes in Barrier Systems in Extreme Environments – From High Temperature Laboratory Tests to Antarctic Field Sites, Geosynthetics Conference 2015, 15-18 February, Portland, USA .; [Ref: 15592]

Jones D., McWatters R.S., Rowe K. (2015) Evaluation of Geosynthetics for Hydrocarbon Containment in Antarctica, Geosynthetics Conference 2015, 15-18 February, Portland, USA .; [Ref: 15593]

McWatters R.S., Wilkins D., Spedding T., Hince G., Snape I., Rowe K., Jones D., Bouazza A., Gate W. (2014) Geosynthetics in barriers for hydrocarbon remediation in Antarctica, 10th International Conference on Geosynthetics, 21-25 September 2015, Berlin, Germany .; [Ref: 15594]