Abstracts of Remediation Case Studies, Volume 7 - Federal ...

Electrical Resistive Heating at the Avery Dennison Site,
Waukegan, Illinois (continued)
Description:
The Avery Dennison site is located in the Waukegan-Gurnee Industrial Park in Waukegan, Illinois. From 1975 through
1992 film coating operations were performed at the site. Methylene chloride (MeCl) used in these operations was
unloaded in the northeast corner of the building, and transferred by underground piping to above-ground storage tanks in
the northwest corner of the building. In May 1985, an inventory check indicated that approximately 1,585 gallons of MeCl
was released from the underground pipe. Site investigations indicated that the released MeCl was present in the soil and
groundwater beneath the loading area, the bulk storage tank area, the underground transfer pipe, and a former stormwater
drainage system. Cleanup activities at the site performed from 1985 through 1998 included excavation, soil vapor
extraction, groundwater pump and treat, and air sparging. The results of additional investigations indicated that DNAPL
was present in soil at the site. ERH was used from December 1999 through November 2000 to address the DNAPL source
in the unsaturated zone.
The ERH system included 95 copper electrodes installed around the perimeter of 20 treatment cells, including six
electrodes installed below an active street, and sixteen installed inside the existing building. Thirty four recovery wells
were installed to extract of soil vapor and steam. Two thermocouples were installed in the center of each treatment cell, at
the shallowest (4 ft) and deepest (24 ft) levels of contamination. ERH was performed in the western portion of the
treatment zone starting in December 1999 and in the eastern portion of the treatment zone starting in June 2000. During
the first four weeks of operation, the system did not achieve the target heating rate and power input to the subsurface. The
vendor found that the electrodes had oxidized and that the down hole power cables had been damaged. System
modifications included installing galvanized steel pipes around the electrodes and using above-ground power cables. The
system was restarted and achieved the target heating rate and soil temperature, though the power input remained below the
design level. With the exception of four treatment cells, the concentrations of methylene chloride were reduced to below
cleanup goals by October 2000. Additional electrodes were added to these cells and the system was operated another
month to meet the cleanup goals. No cost data were available for this application.
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