A laboratory study was conducted to assess the feasibility of a washing process with nonionic surfactant in combination with EDDS for the simultaneous mobilization of MTEs and PAH compounds from a field-contaminated soil. Unit processes consisting of complexometric extraction and surfactant-assisted mobilization were combined with reagent regeneration and detoxification steps to generate innocuous products. Thirty minutes of ultrasonic mixing of the soil with a combination of 20 mL L-1 surfactant suspension and a sparing quantity (2 mmol) of EDDS mobilized virtually all of the benzo[alpha] pyrene (B(a)P) and chrysene (Cry) and an appreciable portion of the burdens of Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, lesser amounts of the As and Cu, but only small quantities of Al and Fe. Relative to individual reagents, combinations of surfactant (Brij98), with EDDS increased the recovery of B(a)P but seemingly did not influence Cry extraction efficiencies perceptibly. Nine sequential washes with the same initial dosage of mobilization aids decreased the quantities of both PAHs to levels in the soil that conformed to recommended maxima. What resulted was a soil that had been cleaned and a limited quantity of innocuous wash water. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.