The use of  chemical oxidation to destroy organic contaminants is not a new idea.  Chemical oxidation has been used for over 100 years in the water and wastewater treatment industries.  What is still relatively new is the utilization of chemical oxidation for the destruction of contaminants in the subsurface.  In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) is based on the in situ delivery of chemical oxidants to reduce the mass, mobility, and/or toxicity of the contaminant(s).  Over the past 10 years, ISCO has developed into a proven environmental remedial technology.  The appeal of ISCO is that it can treat target organic contaminants in the soil and groundwater in less time and often for less cost than conventional technologies such as pump-and-treat.  In situ chemical oxidation is especially effective for targeting the source of contamination in soils and groundwater.
Remediation of chlorinated solvents is the most common target at ISCO sites as they are particularly difficult to remediate due to the physical and chemical properties of the contaminants and site specific transport limitations caused by heterogeneity and low permeability media (LPM).  From the contaminants of concern (COC's), to soil type and natural oxidant demand (NOD), there are hundreds of variables that need to be considered for the proper design and implementation of ISCO.   
The successful completion of an ISCO project requires a thorough understanding of site specific conditions and the nuances of the selected technology.  Most ISCO remediation projects that fail, can be directly related to not fully understanding the site specific conditions leading to poor design and implementation of a treatment system.