Site Remediation: Men’s Wearhouse

The Men’s Wearhouse operates a regional dry cleaning facility in Winter Garden, at which both soil and groundwater were impacted. The release of the dry cleaning fluid tetrachloroethylene (a.k.a., perchloroethylene, or PCE) necessitated remediation at both onsite and offsite locations. Remedial alternatives were evaluated, including both in-situ and ex-situ methods to develop a cost-effective solution to address low-concentration, offsite contaminant migration over a relatively large area.

• Remedial alternatives were evaluated, including both in-situ and ex-situ methods.
• The installation of permeable reactive barriers (PRBs), constructed along two transects across the groundwater contaminant plume, was considered to be the best option for long-term remediation.
• FMC’s EHC® technology was chosen for site application. EHC is a controlled-release, integrated carbon and zero valent iron (ZVI) source that yields redox potentials (Eh) as low as -500 mV, which reportedly facilitates the removal of PCE and TCE with less formation of potentially problematic intermediates, such as DCE and VC.
• Two PRBs were constructed; EHC was injected using a Geoprobe drill rig at 7.5-foot centers over a depth interval of 10 to 30 feet below land surface; each PRB was approximately 200 feet long.

• Immediate reduction in PCE concentrations observed at monitoring well locations closest to PRBs.
• Project is ongoing; contaminant concentrations are closely watched via semiannual groundwater quality monitoring.