The International Information Center for Geotechnical Engineers

# Soil Washing

Soil Washing Costs

The average cost of a soil washing project is approximately $150 to$250 per ton (US EPA 1993). There are several costs associated with soil washing that depend on specific site requirements and remediation goals. The costs associated with soil washing can be broken into the following categories (CL:AIRE 2007):

• initial costs
• operational costs
• set-up and break down costs
• chemical analysis
• disposal costs

Initial costs associated with soil washing could include bench scale tests and treatability studies prior to site implementation. Set-up and break down of the soil washing system could include permitting, design, infrastructure, transport, and commissioning costs. Costs associated with operation of the soil washing system could include: shift workers and labor costs, equipment purchasing or renting, fuel, electricity, chemicals, storage containers, and safety equipment. Chemical analysis and disposal may also add to the overall cost depending upon project specifications (CL:AIRE 2007). Figure 12 below was taken from an EPA publication that used the Remedial Action Cost Engineering and Requirements (RACER) software (FDTR 2006). The figure shows the breakdown of costs for soil washing projects of two different sizes. The cost of soil washing decreases significantly with increasing volume (for the table shown it decreases from $142 to$53 per cubic yard, which makes soil washing much more cost effective for large projects (FDTR 2006). This reduction in cost is likely due to the set-up, design, and purchasing of the equipment and remediation system.

Figure 12: Soil Washing Cost Comparison (from FTDR 2006)