Modeling of the Natural Attenuation through multivariate geostatistical techniques

Up to the eighties, the chlorinated solvents have been considered recalcitrant to the common treatments and the attempts of remediation were limited to Pump&Treat technique. Modelling spatial variability of environmental parameters through the application of modern techniques of geostatistics has permitted to acquire elements apt to evaluate the possibility of using Natural Attenuation as a remediation technique for groundwater contaminated by chlorinated compounds. Moreover, a precise delineation of hazardous areas in a polluted site is strongly based on accurate predictions of contaminant concentrations, a task that is complicated by the presence of censored data and highly positively skewed distributions. The present paper proposes a geostatistical approach that includes different methods for the study and the control of the ongoing activity of Natural Attenuation in an abandoned industrial area