Common Cleanup Methods Hazardous wastes are often treated to reduce their volume or toxicity and to protect human health and the environment. Other cleanup methods focus on safe management.
Air stripping removes volatile organic compounds from contaminated groundwater or surface water.
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are chemicals that quickly vaporize when heated or disturbed. For example, the gasoline fumes you smell at the gas station are VOCs volatilized in the air. In air stripping, these vapors are transferred from the water in which they were dissolved into a passing air stream. This air stream can be further processed to collect and reuse or destroy the VOCs. The process starts when contaminated surface water or groundwater is pumped from large storage tanks into the top of a packed tower attached to an air blower.