The Borden Site for Groundwater Contamination Experiments: 1978–1995

The Borden experimental site for studies of groundwater contamination was established in 1978 in a small area of a large military base (Canadian Forces Base Borden) situated 60 km northwest of Toronto, Canada. The experimental site is used primarily for controlled experiments in which a variety of chemicals of industrial origin, some of which are hazardous substances, are released carefully into the subsurface environment with detailed monitoring of their movement and fate. The experiments are “controlled” in the sense that the mass and input locations of the chemicals are known precisely, and the ultimate extent of migration of the chemicals at environmentally objectionable concentrations is readily controlled by engineering means such as excavation, pump-and-treat or new technologies. In a few experiments the input chemicals are allowed to move without intervention because concentrations in the aquifer have attained or will ultimately attain environmentally acceptable levels.