Sampling of motorway ditches and stormwater retention basins

In order to be able to guarantee regulated water run-off from the motorways and thus increase road safety, Autobahn Westfalen carries out regular clearing work on the ditches and rainwater retention basins of the motorways. Pollutants typical of traffic are to be expected in the cleared material, which can be caused, for example, by material abrasion from vehicles or fuel losses. In addition to possible contamination by heavy metals or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), trench debris often has a high organic content. For this reason, sampling of the excavated material must be carried out in advance of maintenance measures in order to determine the possible disposal routes for the extracted soil material.

For this purpose, ditches and stormwater retention basins were sampled by the M&P team from Osnabrück as part of the project "Sampling ditches & stormwater retention basins 2022 for the area of responsibility of the Osnabrück field office", the sample material was addressed in terms of soil science in the process and then sent to the laboratory for analytical examination. In contrast to pavement investigations on state and federal roads, which are also part of the M&P team's area of responsibility, in this case we were supported in traffic safety by the Autobahnmeistereien of the Autobahn Westfalen.

Under certain conditions, excavated material that is free of pollutants as well as polluted to a certain degree can be recycled. If recycling is impossible due to excessive material contamination, the material usually has to be deposited in a landfill. In this case, further laboratory tests are usually required, such as determining the calorific value, the respiration activity in 4 days (AT4) or the gas formation rate over 21 days (GB 21).

M&P carries out the waste-legal assessment based on the analysis results and then transmits them to the client and, if necessary, makes suggestions for the disposal route. In this way, our client receives everything from a single source.

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