Print this pageAbstract: Correlation
of hydrocarbon contamination in 
soil
with electric conductivity measurements:
Example at the building site of the hydro power plant Freudenau in Vienna
ANGL, GEORG, and HANS SCHIMPF
The geologic pre-investigations
for the Danube hydro plant Freudenau (Vienna, Austria) showed oil contamination
at several drillings at the right river bank (10 km from the conference
site). A detailed investigation by drillings, chemical analysis of soil
samples and electromagnetic measurements had to be carried out. It was
possible to establish a correlation between the total amount of hydrocarbon
and the electrical conductivity of the soil at the penetration depth of
the electromagnetic method. We used a combination of conductivity values
from Geonics EM-34-3. Mapping from the surface showed the area affected
by contamination.
Due to the Austrian environmental
regulations only material of normal concentration could be used as building
material. Chemical analysis of soil samples was made during excavation
work to classify the material by deposition classes. The main part of the
excavated soil
and gravel could be stabilized by adding cement and used
as back filling of the walls.
A brief description of the geology at the site of the power plant is given which is of special interest for the participants of the AAPG conference. The impoundment of the Danube river, which has been completed some months before the conference, can be observed by everybody crossing the Danube river.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90942©1997 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria