Despite of over 25 years of intensive technological efforts, sub-surface environment cleanup still
remains a challenge, especially in case of highly contaminated sites. In this context, ion exchanger technologies
could provide simple and effective solutions for heavy metal removal in water treatment. The challenge is
finding exchanger able to operate in extreme natural environments or in situations involving natural interfering
species such as inorganic ions. In this paper we exam the use of natural zeolites as versatile exchanger for
environmental protection of coastal refinery's groundwater against pollution of Ni, Cd, Pb. The influence of
particle diameter on clinoptilolite performances toward heavy metal removal is studied. Also, we evaluate the
exchanger activities in condition of high ionic strength, commonly present in groundwater located under
coastal petrol industries. The obtained results confirmed that ion exchangers could provide an effective
solutions for remediation in complex environmental conditions.