Course Title: Land Contamination

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Land Contamination

Credit Points: 6.00

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
OENG1033	City Campus	Undergraduate	120H Civil, Environmental & Chemical Engineering	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor John Brumley

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 99252379

Course Coordinator Email: john.brumley@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Basic knowledge of geology, and surface and groundwater hydrology.

Course Description

The course provides an introduction to the professional assessment and management of contaminated land and groundwater. The topics covered include; an historical background to the management of contaminated sites, legislation and the role of an auditor of contaminated land, methodologies for assessment, management,
remediation and validation of sites, risk assessment, migration pathways, quality assurance and control, landfill issues, chemistry of natural groundwaters, the concept of “beneficial use”, case studies, regional and point source contamination in both urban and regional settings, land and water salinization. Salinity is taught as a field based module over two days.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

See Part B of Course Guide

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
LO1: Interpret and communicate information on the contamination of soil and groundwater, and understand its significance.
LO2: View and interpret contamination problems in both the regional and local hydrogeological context.
LO3: Explain the terminology and describe the methodology of environmental contamination management, monitoring, auditing, remediation and clean up validation.
LO4: Comprehend the processes involved in the soil and land salinisation and analyze various management strategies.
LO5: Analyze and evaluate the chemistry of groundwater.

Overview of Learning Activities

• Participate in class activities and the field module
• Use the assignment as a continuous focus for learning about all phases of managing contaminated sites
• Enhance the knowledge gained from lectures with further review of the literature

Overview of Learning Resources

References
Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Contaminated Sites. Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council National Health and Medical Research Council, 1992
Guidelines for Issue of Certificates and Statements of Environmental Audit. Publication 759B, June 2002. EPA Victoria www.epa.vic.gov.au
Groundwater Quality Restricted Use Zones. Publication 862, July 2002. EPA Victoria.
www.epa.vic.gov.au
The Clean Up and Management of Polluted Groundwater. Publication 840, April 2002. EPA Victoria. www.epa.vic.gov.au
State Environment Protection Policy for Groundwaters of Victoria. No. S160 17 Dec. 1997. EPA Victoria.
The Geochemistry of Natural Waters, Drever, J.I., 1988 Second Ed.
National Environmental Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measures 1999. www.ephc.gov.au

Overview of Assessment

Written examination of 2 hours duration.
• Value: 70%
• Criteria: demonstrated achievement of all learning outcomes
• Feedback delivery: grade

Assignment
• Value: 30%
• Due date: Week 8 for preliminary submission, final submission week 13
• Criteria: demonstrated achievement of learning outcomes 1,2,3 and 5
• Feedback: progressive comments, peer review and final grade