Accomplishments

Four directional drilling systems have been successfully demon-
strated at the Savannah River Site. The placement of horizontal bore-
holes was a requisite supporting technology for other demonstra-
tions at the Savannah River Site. Using horizontal wells, significant improvements in remedial per-
formance was achieved over base-
line technologies in the air spar-
ging/air stripping phases of this demonstration. Drilling costs of the MPID and UICD technologies were demonstrated to be generally on par with the corresponding costs incurred by industry for non-en-
vironmental well installation ($160-
299/foot). The use of horizontal wells showed a fivefold increase in contaminant removal rate over

that of vertical wells; see Vapor Extraction/Air Sparging via Hori-
zontal Wells for more information.

Collaboration/Technology Transfer

The horizontal drilling methods tested and modified in this demon-
stration were initially developed by the petroleum and utility indus-
try. The application of the Short-
Radius and Modified Petroleum drilling technologies to the reme-
diation of environmental contam-
ination was carried out in partner-
ship with Eastman Christensen Environmental. The application of the Utility Industry and River Cross-
ing drilling technologies was car-
ried out in partnership with Charles Machine Works and Cher-
rington Environmental Corpora-
tion, respectively. As a result of