Patent ID: 7265255

Claim:
A method for decontaminating the soil at the bottom of a body of water, which is known to contain PCBs, comprising: operating a system comprising a barge for carrying a high power laser, a plurality of fiber optic cables which extend from said barge down to near the bottom of the body of water, said laser mounted to emit high intensity laser light into said fiber optic cables so that said high intensity laser light will exit the fiber optic cables near the surface of the soil at the bottom of said body of water, said high intensity light functioning to break the chemical bonds of PCB molecules, a light source and video camera mounted on the fiber optic cables to enable an operator to view the present underwater operating environment, a ground sensor and UV light attached near the end of the fiber optic cables, said ground sensor allowing for the automatic adjustment of height and said UV light functioning to break down said PCBs; wherein the method further comprises applying the high intensity laser light to soil at the bottom of the body of water, said laser light emitted from a plurality of fiber optic cables, which have their ends located near the bottom of the body of water, said laser light emitted at sufficient intensity and wavelength to break down the molecular structure of any PCB molecules located in soil, so that said soil is PCB free and decontaminated, and monitoring via said video camera and a ground sensing means, an underwater environment undergoing the treatment process, so that the height of the fiber optic cables may be individually adjusted to follow natural contours of the bottom of the body of water and to avoid contact with hazardous objects.