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Ameren Begins New Clean-Up Process in Galesburg
A remediation process that's never before been used in Illinois is underway right now in Galesburg.

Ameren Illinois is cleaning up coal tars in the ground from the former manufactured gas plant near North Cedar and West Ferris Streets.

Project manager of the clean up, Steven Burns, says the in-situ solidification technology was the best option.

"We'll also be testing for -- it's hard to explain -- but how impermeable the concrete-type columns are," Burns said. "The whole purpose of this is to lock in any contamination that might be down beneath the ground, and keep any further contamination from being reached out in the groundwater. Nobody is using the groundwater here, which is really good, but we want to try to lock this contamination into place so it does not move off the site."

The process injects a concrete-type mixture into the ground with a drill-like auger.

The mixture absorbs the coal tars and hardens, preventing it from spreading further.

Pictures from Ameren's clean-up site:









(WGIL News Story and Photos by Emily Ford.)
12 10 10 by Newsroom
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