Soil contamination can originate from many different sources. As a result, many different types of contamination can exist in the soil. One common example is gasoline byproducts, which exist in the soil due to leaking gas tanks or fuel lines. Another example would be chlorinated solvents, such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) or its daughter product trichloroethylene (TCE), often used in manufacturing or at dry-cleaning facilities.
Soil contamination typically exists as a vapor, filling the void space between the soil particles. Soil contamination in the vapor phase is often remediated through a process called soil vapor extraction (SVE), where horizontal wells may be used to directly impact large areas of contamination, sucking it up and transporting it to a facility where it can be treated.
