Commitment by Eko Harden: new method of sea bottom remediation tested in Töölö Bay
The sea bottom near cities is often damaged by harmful substances introduced through human activity. The same environments also often suffer from eutrophication. Eko Harden Technologies’ Commitment looks for a way to remediate contaminated sediments and help control eutrophication. A research project is being carried out in Töölö Bay in co-operation with the Finnish Environment Institute and the City of Helsinki.
Eko Harden Technologies has patented EKOGRID® technology which is used to treat contaminated soil and ground water world-wide. The company’s Baltic Sea Commitment is to test the method in an aquatic environment.
“The method has been in use in land areas, and with its help it has been possible to improve spoiled areas. The equipment produces a weak electric field in the area, which has been shown to accelerate the decay of harmful substances in soil. We set the equipment in Töölö Bay, in the center of Helsinki to study the breaking of the harmful substances, such as oil and PAH compunds in the sediment”, says Iisak Lusua of Eko Harden Technologies Oy.
Preliminary investigations carried out in an aquatic environment have suggested that the equipment could have an inhibiting effect on the internal nutrient input which maintains eutrophication. Treating or removing polluted and/or nutrient rich sediments could in future, be a potential way to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. More than half of the current phosphorus load to the Baltic Sea comes from internal load and new innovative ways to tackle this problem on local level are needed.
“The active field work, when three rafts will be anchored in Töölö Bay, will take about a year. Conducting the research will not disturb the environment and when the study is over the rafts and the equipment will be removed from the bay”, tells Iisak Lusua from Eko Harden.
The City of Helsinki will monitor the long-term effects of the method. Eko Harden’s Commitment’s runs till the end of the research project when the new possibilities are mapped based on the research results.
