Arsenic Treatment Technologies
for Soil, Waste, and Water
Fact Sheet and Order Information
The report Arsenic Treatment Technologies for Soil, Waste,
and Water contains information about the technologies
available to treat soil, waste, and water containing
arsenic, and can help stakeholders to:
• Identify proven and effective arsenic treatment
technologies
• Screen those technologies based on effectiveness,
treatment goals, application-specific characteristics,
and cost
• Apply experience from sites with similar treatment
challenges
• Find more detailed arsenic treatment information
Arsenic is a contaminant that may cause a variety of
adverse health effects in humans and can be difficult to
treat. It is the second most common contaminant of
concern at Superfund sites {seefigure below).
The recent reduction in the maximum contaminant
level (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water from 0.050 to
0.010 milligrams per liter (mg/L) will impact the
selection of technologies and their application for the
treatment of drinking water, and could result in more
stringent treatment goals for the remediation of arsenic-
contaminated sites.
The Five Most Common Contaminants of Concern at Superfund Sites
Lead
Arsenic
Benzene Chromium Toluene
The report identifies 13 technologies for treating arsenic
and provides detailed information about the application
and performance of each technology (see table). The
report concludes that, in general, soil and waste are
treated by immobilizing arsenic using solidification/
stabilization (S/S), which is generally the least expensive
technology for those media. Other technologies for the
treatment of soil and waste tend to be used when the
specific soil or waste characteristics, or site conditions
indicate that the technology will be more effective or
less expensive than S/S.
Precipitation/coprecipitation frequently is used to treat
arsenic-contaminated water, and can treat a wide range
of influent concentrations to concentrations below the
revised MCL for arsenic. Its effectiveness is less likely
than other technologies to be reduced by the presence of
multiple contaminants. Also, it is more cost effective
than other technologies when applied at a large scale.
Other water treatment technologies tend to be used in
smaller treatment systems, or when arsenic is the only
contaminant to be treated.
Innovative technologies capable of treating arsenic in
soil, waste, and water currently have been applied a
limited number of times, but in the future they may be
used more frequently as additional data become
available about their performance and cost.
Technology
Number of Full Scale
Applications Identified
(Number with
Performance Data)
Soil and Waste Treatment Technologies
Solidification/Stabilization
Vitrification
Soil Washing/Acid Extraction
Pyrometallurgical Recovery
In Situ Soil Flushing
34 (32)
6(2)
4(0)
4(2)
2(0)
Water Treatment Technologies
Precipitation/Coprecipitation
Membrane Filtration
Adsorption
Ion Exchange
Permeable Reactive Barriers
45 (30)
2(2)
14(8)
7(4)
3(1)
Soil, Waste, and Water Treatment Technologies
Electrokinetics
Phytoremediation
Biological Treatment
1(0)
1(0)
KO)
Ordering Information
A PDF version of this report is available at http-.llclu-
in.orglarsenic. The web site also includes links to the
results of the literature search conducted to gather
information for this report, and the related report
Proven Alternatives for'Above-Ground Treatment of
Arsenic in Groundwater
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National Service Center for
Environmental Publications
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5102G)
EPA 542-F-02-009
November 2002
clu-in.org/arsenic
www.epa.go/tio
Arsenic Treatment Technologies
for Soil, Waste, and Water
Fact Sheet and Order Information
Order Form
To order Arsenic Treatment Technologies for Soil, Waste, and Water (EPA 542-R-02-004) please call 1 -800-490-9198, or
complete this form and mail or fax it to:
Order on-line at
National Service Center for Environmental Publications
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242-2419
Fax: (513)489-8695
or download free copies from
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