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Abstract

The aim of this research project was to investigate the impacts of tunneling spoil on the environment after disposal. With a growing number of tunneling projects taking place in the UK along with growing concern for the state of the environment, this topic of research has gradually begun to gain importance within civil engineering. Although it currently remains an understudied area of research, an increasing number of studies are finding that current attitudes towards pollution caused by excavated material are more lenient than they should be.

Methods
Two groups of spoil samples that were disposed of 18 years apart and a group of control soil samples were gathered and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma – optical emission spectroscopy (ICP – OES) to determine the concentrations of five different heavy metal elements within each sample. The results were used to draw comparisons between the three groups to identify leaching characteristics between the two spoil groups and contrast their results with naturally occurring concentrations.

Results and discussion
The investigation found that the samples collected from the fresher spoil were more contaminated than the older spoil however the naturally occurring spoil was significantly more contaminated with every element being investigated. The results indicated leaching had occurred more significantly within the older spoil since the levels of contamination found were significantly lower. The control group being the most contaminated group may indicate that heavy metals are leaching out of the spoil at faster rates than they would naturally, however further research would be needed to confirm this.

Conclusions
The results of data analysis identified significant differences between the sample groups, showing evidence of greater leaching from the Eurotunnel spoil which contained a much smaller amount of heavy metals. Although, it was found that the control sample group was naturally more contaminated, demonstrating that the spoil sites are contaminated below ambient levels

Course: Civil Engineering - BEng (Hons) - C0177

Date Deposited: 2024-08-08

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14441.html