&EFA
A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO
DRYCLEANER CLEANUP
www.drycleancoalition.org
Background
Drycleaners are found in suburbs, business districts,
and strip malls. Drycleaners use cleaning fluids called
solvents to clean clothes and other fabrics. Solvents
can be used safely if properly managed; however,
solvents can harm people, animals, and plants if
released to the environment.
Drycleaning solvents can be stored in drums or in
tanks above or below ground. Spills or discharges of
these liquids can contaminate soil and water. Cleaning
solvents or waste containing solvents should not
be poured on the ground or down the drain. These
chemicals can seep into the ground from septic tank
systems or leaking sewer pipes. Even small, unintended,
or unknown releases from the operation of drycleaners
can contaminate the environment.
Drycleaners have used many types of cleaning fluids
through the years. Products based on petroleum, such
as Stoddard solvent (somewhat like paint thinner), were
the cleaning fluids of choice in the 1940s and '50s. Some
cleaners still use them. These products are lighter than
water. If they are released to the ground in quantity, they
can drain through the soil to float atop the groundwater
table. Once there, they slowly dissolve into the water
to form a toxic plume. The plume can affect drinking
water supplies. Also, vapors from the released solvent
and plume can rise through the soil into buildings. This
process is called "vapor intrusion."
Other cleaning fluids used by most drycleaners are
chlorinated solvents. Different types have been used
in the United States, and some are still used for spot
cleaning. Perchloroethene (PERC, or PCE) has been
the solvent of choice since the 1960s. These solvents
are denser than water, which means they sink instead
of float. When released to the ground in quantity, they
contaminate the soil and groundwater for a long time. The
contamination can last tens to hundreds of years. The
vapors from these solvents can also intrude into buildings.
Where are the Risks
Drycleaning solvents can threaten human health mainly
by contaminating indoor air or drinking water. They often
cannot be smelled or tasted. The amount of solvent found
in indoor air or drinking water does not have to be large to
be harmful.
Cleanup Goals
Cleanup goals are chosen to make the site and
resources safe for their intended use. The cleanup goal
for groundwater that provides drinking water might differ
from one for water not used for drinking water. The
cleanup method(s) must be able to achieve the goal in a
reasonable time frame.
Time Available lor Cleanup
Diverse cleanup methods take different amounts of time
to reach the cleanup goal. The methods that achieve
cleanup fastest can cost more in the short term. The time
allowed for cleanup is balanced against the cost and
potential reuse of the property.
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What Affects Cleanup Method Choice
Cleanup can be approached in different ways.
Direct and present threats to the public, like
contaminated well water, can be mitigated by
providing clean drinking water. Mitigation measures
do not address the source of the problem. A
remedy, on the other hand, takes steps to clean up
the contamination.
Many factors go into choosing a cleanup method.
The type and amount of contamination: Was the
spill pure solvent or was it mostly water? The
larger the release, the greater the area that will
need cleaning.
The type of soil at a site: Clay soils are harder
to clean than sandy soils.
How far solvents reach underground: Water
very far down in the ground is less likely to
be affected by a release. However, some
solvents are heavier than water, so they tend
to sink when leaked into groundwater. It is
hard to clean up solvents that settle deep
into groundwater. Some cleanup methods
become too costly to use.
Limits on how a cleanup method can be used:
Digging up the affected area is limited by how
deep the equipment can reach. Some methods
work slowly. Some work quickly. Some work
well in one type of soil but not in another. No
one method can work for every site.
Size of work area: The space available to set up
and use equipment may be too small for some
cleanup methods.
Cost of cleanup: While ensuring that a cleanup
protects human health and the environment
is the most important factor when selecting a
cleanup method, cost may also be considered
when choosing a remedy. A project manager
may choose a cleanup method that is less
expensive than another option if both will result
in the same level of cleanup.
When the spill occurred: The length of time
that has passed since the release occurred
can affect the preferred cleanup method.
Urgency of threat to people and the environment:
In some instances, a contaminated site does
not pose an immediate threat to people or the
environment and an active cleanup technology is
not necessary. In these cases, the project manager
may recommend frequent monitoring of the site or
place restrictions on its use.
Legal Issues
Almost all cleanups will require permits or some regulatory
program oversight for site activities. Some permits will be fairly
easy to get. Others, such as permits to inject chemicals to
clean up the ground or groundwater, can be more difficult
to obtain. State laws govern the approach used for setting
cleanup goals. Cleanup goals can vary depending on the risk
posed and whether the affected property will be or is used
for housing, commerce, or industry.
What Cleanup Methods are Available
Mitigation Methods
Groundwater
When drycleaning liquids are found in a drinking water
well, a filter can be installed in the home. The filter will
remove contaminants until the groundwater is cleaned up.
It is important to maintain filters by keeping them clean
and changing them frequently. In some cases, bottled
water is supplied until drinking water supply lines can be
installed. These methods provide protection quickly but do
not fix the problem. Where feasible, affected homes can
be connected to public water lines to eliminate exposure
to contaminated groundwater.
Soil Vapor Intrusion
Harmful vapors from solvents in soil or a toxic plume can
rise to the surface. The vapors can enter into buildings
through cracks in flooring or concrete slab foundation.
Several methods are available to slow or stop chemicals
from entering a building. The methods can be used alone
or together. The first step is to seal cracks in the floors and
walls. Gaps around utility conduits, sumps, and elevator
shafts should also be sealed. If the building has a crawl
space or the slab has been temporarily removed, plastic
sheeting placed on the ground is a barrier to soil gas.
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The most common way to mitigate vapor intrusion
uses a fan or blower to draw air from the soil beneath
a building and discharge it to the outside air. This
system is called sub-slab depressurization. These
systems can be installed in houses with basements
or slab-on-grade construction. Holes are drilled
through the slab into subsurface soil. Pipes are
placed in them, and the opening around each pipe is
sealed. The pipes are connected to a venting system.
A fan pulls soil gas from beneath the slab and vents
it to the outside.
Remediation Methods
Excavation
Digging up contaminated soil and sending it to a landfill
is the quickest and most direct way of cleaning up a site.
The use of this method depends upon how much soil is
affected, how deep the contamination goes, and whether
there is enough room for the equipment to get to it. Soil
that is under buildings or in the groundwater is seldom
dug up.
Soil Vapor Extraction
Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is a cleanup technique
for contaminated soils used at some drycleaner sites.
A vacuum is applied to the subsurface soil to draw
out soil gas for treatment above ground. The vapors
can be cleaned above ground by one of the many
treatment methods available. SVE is very effective
in sandy soil. It can be used to draw out solvent
vapors under or next to a building. SVE minimizes
the potential for vapor intrusion while the site is being
cleaned up. There must be enough space for the
equipment above ground. On the down side, reaching
cleanup goals can take several years.
Pump and Treat
Pump and treat systems remove contaminated
groundwater for treatment above ground. These systems
can slow or stop the spread of the toxic plume. Wells
with pumps in them can be installed below ground
and at some distance from the treatment unit. The
treated water can be handled in different ways. It can
be pumped into a storm sewer or sanitary sewer, or re-
injected into the aquifer.
In-Ground Chemical Oxidation
In some cases, drycleaner solvents can be destroyed
without pumping them above ground. In situ (in
place) chemical oxidation involves injecting reactive
treatment products where they are needed to destroy
contaminants with a goal of leaving harmless by-products
after treatment. Harmless by-products remain after
treatment. The oxidants are very effective against
dissolved solvents and sometimes solvent residues.
They are less effective on highly concentrated or pooled
SVE Treatment System
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solvents. While adding expense to the cleanup, this
method can help meet cleanup goals faster. Several
injection wells may be required, but the delivery system
is portable and likely on the site for a short time.
Thermal
Heating units can be placed below ground to destroy
or vaporize chemicals that are hard to remove by other
means. Solvents in silt or clay soil typically are hard
to remove. Some heating technologies (resistive and
conductive) use electrical energy to heat the source
soil to temperatures near or above the solvent boiling
point. These methods use electrodes or heater units.
The units are placed within the soil area to be cleaned
up. Another method, steam heating, injects steam into
the ground to vaporize the solvents. These vapors
can be captured by SVE and treated above ground.
Heating can be more expensive than other methods,
but it works very well. It should be considered when a
source zone is hard to treat and cleanup time is short.
Depending on the amount of solvent, the heating units
might remain on the site for six months or more.
Biodegradation
All drycleaning solvents can be eaten by microbes
(bacteria) to some extent. The chemical might degrade
without treatment if conditions in the groundwater
are favorable. But the underground conditions often
must be altered to spur microbes to act upon solvents,
especially chlorinated solvents. Injecting harmless
fluids, such as whey or molasses, into the treatment
zone can stimulate native microbes. If certain types of
microbes are needed to break down solvents, they may
have to be added. Biodegradation must be monitored to
make sure that the plume does not migrate or cause a
vapor intrusion problem.
Natural Attenuation
This method relies on natural conditions in the subsurface
to degrade, disperse, dilute, take up, transform, or
otherwise clean up chemicals. It is often used as a
remedy for low-risk situations or when there are low
levels of chemicals in groundwater. This process takes
a longer time than most cleanup methods. Depending
on the situation, it may be monitored to prove cleanup is
taking place.
Institutional Controls
Institutional controls are used with other cleanup methods.
They prevent people from drinking the groundwater or
coming in contact with the solvents until the other cleanup
methods have worked. The controls sometimes restrict
drilling wells or disturbing the soil after action above
ground at the site has ended.
For More Information
The State Coalition for Remediation of Drycleaners (SCRD) website contains reports that discuss site cleanup
methods. The site has over 175 case studies of drycleaner sites that have been assessed and cleaned up, wit
cost data (www.drvcleancoalition.org/). A listing of all SCRD state representatives, complete with contact informa
and links to state drycleaner program websites, can be found by visiting http://www.drycleancoalition.org/members.
cfm#contacts.
U.S. EPA has a webpage called "Citizen's Guides to Cleanup Methods." The Guides
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5203P)
EPA542-F-11-013
August 2011
www.epa.gov/tio/tsp
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