David O’Connor was the recipient of the best poster award at the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Remediation which took place in Vienna in November 2012. The event was organised by the Environment Agency Austria in cooperation with the US Environmental Protection Agency, CL:AIRE (Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments) and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna. The conference provided a venue for professionals and interested parties from multiple backgrounds to share experiences and perspectives on how contaminated sites can be remediated more sustainably.
David's PhD study forms part of an extensive research programme led by Dr Abir Al-Tabbaa into the remediation of contaminated land. The team has been investigating a range of novel materials, processes and technologies as part a large TSB funded project: Soil Mix Remediation Technology (SMiRT), which involved the performance of large scale field trials on a contaminated site in Yorkshire.
David, starting his second year of research, received first prize for his poster entitled: Soil Mix Technology and Reactive Cut-Off Walls. Pictured here with Carlos Pachon of the USEPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation. The focus of David’s work is on the design and performance of soil mix technology reactive low permeability in-ground barriers, which are a far more sustainable system than the traditional cut-off walls, focussing on field performance and the development of novel reactive materials for enhanced durability and sustainability.