The resulting magma cools to form an igneous rock material. Thus, it is possible to melt soft clay or loose sand, with the final mass resembling black glassy obsidian, or white crystalline granite, depending upon the original mineralogy and rate of cooling. Of particular interest, plasma is a versatile and thorough means of in-situ remediation of buried wastes and contaminated ground since the same technique can be applied regardless of the types of contaminants and pollutants. Startup projects initially funded by the National Science Foundation (STTR), Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Army, and Westinghouse/Savannah River Corporation. The GT plasma research is conducted by an partnership between the Construction Research Center (Dr. Lou Circeo), GTRI-Environmental (Bob Newsom), and Civil &Environmental Engineering (Dr. Paul Mayne). A 100-kW plasma system is on loan from the Georgia Power Company and a 240-kW system was made available by funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.