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9088022 
Journal Article 
Monitoring, migration, and control of an ethylene dichloride contaminant plume in a gravel aquifer 
Dakin, RA; Holmes, AT 
1987 
375-387 
English 
On February 15, 1986 , derailment of a CN Rail freight train near Fort Langley, B.C. resulted in a 247,500 litre spill of ethylene dichloride (EDC). Within a few hours, the spilled chemical had seeped into the ground. Piteau Associates were retained to supervise a drilling program that was carried out to delineate the extent of the contamination and to establish a monitoring network. A monitoring program was instituted to determine temporal changes and to determine the direction and velocity of contaminant migration. Initial monitoring indicated that a plume in a gravel aquifer was travelling towards the Fraser River, about 350m away, at a maximum rate of about 2.5m/day. Many plastics, (such as PVC) which are normally used for groundwater monitoring, could not be used due to the corrosive nature of the EDC. Readily available steel and non corrosive plastic materials were used to avoid delays in implementing a monitoring system. The hydraulics of the aquifer were analyzed, and the pumping rate required to control migration of the plume was estimated. Subsequent to this study, a recovery program was instituted by others, and recovery of the EDC is still ongoing.