Cause-impact Evaluation Of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils At Petroleum Refineries
Abstract
This Master Degree Project (MDO) is focused in Talara Refinery, which is the second largest refinery in Peru. Talara Refinery is in the implementation process of ISO 14001, however the contaminiation of soils and groundwater has been iidentifed as an important environmental liability that would prevent them of the implementation of this Environmental Management System (EMS). Contaimination of soils and groundwater occurs when petroleum products are released to the environment due to rupture or leaks of pipelines, valves and storage equipment, and/or poor operational practices.
This MDP identifies the souces of contamination and analyzes impacts on Talara and refinery itself. The author found that in the case of Refinery, spills or leaks were consequence of poor maintenance programs or operational practices. This caused the accumulation of important amount of hydrocarbons in the soil and groundwater that was evident during the visit to the site. Such degree of contamination impacts the environmental balance, brings social conflicts and deseases, and represents economical losses that are identified in detail in Chapter Four.
In addition, this project also evaluates the current practices at Talara Refinery in order to identify the stakeholders, driving fources or barriers that would prevent the implementation of a strategy for Remediation and Prevention of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils at the Refinery. Remediation Technologies are evaluated into a matrix in order to decide which technolgoy may apply to the problem of the Refinery. Three technologies are propsed by the authro for soil remediation: landfarming, beneficial reuse and bioremediation.
Finally, the author propses the Pollution Prevention Strategy with a list of tools to be used and practices to develop in order to avoid feture contamination of soils and groundwater at Talara Refinery and other Petroleum Refineries.
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Citation
Mamani Alvarez, J. (2005). Cause-impact Evaluation Of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils At Petroleum Refineries (Unpublished report). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.