Global Efforts to Advance Remediation at Contaminated Sites
AquaConSoil 2013-2017
Valence state: The combining capacity of an atom or radical determined by the number of electrons that it will lose, add, or share when it reacts with other atoms.
Source: The American Heritage™ Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
free product: A NAPL found in the subsurface in sufficient quantity that it can be partially recovered by pumping or gravity drain.
aerobic: Direct aerobic metabolism involves microbial reactions that require oxygen to go forward. The bacteria uses a carbon substrate as the electron donor and oxygen as the electron acceptor. Degradation of contaminants that are susceptible to aerobic degradation but not anaerobic often ceases in the vicinity of the source zone because of oxygen depletion. This can sometimes be reversed by adding oxygen in the form of air (air sparging, bioventing), ozone, or slow oxygen release compound (e.g., ORC(r)).
Aerobic dechlorination may also occur via cometabolism where the dechlorination is incidental to the metabolic activities of the organisms. In this case, contaminants are degraded by microbial enzymes that are metabolizing other organic substrates. Cometabolic dechlorination does not appear to produce energy for the organism. At pilot- or full-scale treatment, cometabolic and direct dechlorination may be indistinguishable, and both processes may contribute to contaminant removal. For aerobic cometabolism to occur there must be sufficient oxygen and a suitable substrate which allows the microbe to produce the appropriate enzyme. These conditions may be present naturally but often in the presence of a source area oxygen and a substrate such as methane or propane will need to be introduced.
Adapted from US. EPA 2006 Engineering Issue: In Situ and Ex Situ Biodegradation Technologies for Remediation of Contaminated Sites
anaerobic: Direct anaerobic metabolism involves microbial reactions occurring in the absence of oxygen and encompasses many processes, including fermentation, methanogenesis, reductive dechlorination, sulfate-reducing activities, and denitrification. Depending on the contaminant of concern, a subset of these activities may be cultivated. In anaerobic metabolism, nitrate, sulfate, carbon dioxide, oxidized metals, or organic compounds may replace oxygen as the electron acceptor.
Anaerobic dechlorination also may occur via cometabolism where the dechlorination is incidental to the metabolic activities of the organisms. In this case, contaminants are degraded by microbial enzymes that are metabolizing other organic substrates. Cometabolic dechlorination does not appear to produce energy for the organism. At pilot- or full-scale treatment, cometabolic and direct dechlorination may be indistinguishable, and both processes may contribute to contaminant removal.
Quoted from US. EPA 2006 Engineering Issue: In Situ and Ex Situ Biodegradation Technologies for Remediation of Contaminated Sites
architecture: "Architecture" refers to the physical distribution of the contaminant in the subsurface. Residuals that take the form of long thin ganglia or small dispersed globules provide a larger surface area that will dissolve much faster than if the same amount of liquid were concentrated in a competent pool.
Sources: For purposes of this discussion, a DNAPL source zone includes the zone that encompasses the entire subsurface volume in which DNAPL is present either at residual saturation or as "pools" of accumulation above confining units. In addition, the DNAPL source zone includes regions that have come into contact with DNAPL that may be storing contaminant mass as a result of diffusion of DNAPL into the soil or rock matrix.
source zone: For purposes of this discussion, a DNAPL source zone includes the zone that encompasses the entire subsurface volume in which DNAPL is present either at residual saturation or as "pools" of accumulation above confining units. In addition, the DNAPL source zone includes regions that have come into contact with DNAPL that may be storing contaminant mass as a result of diffusion of DNAPL into the soil or rock matrix.
focal ulceration: The process or fact of a localized area being eroded away.
metaplasia of the glandular stomach: A change of cells to a form that does not normally occur in the tissue in which it is found.
hyperplasia of the glandular stomach: A condition in which there is an increase in the number of normal cells in a tissue or organ.
histiocytic: Degenerative.
duodenum: First part of the small intestine.
microcytic: Any abnormally small cell.
squamous cell papillomas: A small solid benign tumor with a clear-cut border that projects above the surrounding tissue.
squamous cell carcinomas: Cancer that begins in squamous cells-thin, flat cells that look under the microscope like fish scales. Squamous cells are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of hollow organs of the body, and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Squamous cell carcinomas may arise in any of these tissues.
jejunum: The middle portion of the small intestine, between duodenum and ileum. It represents about 2/5 of the remaining portion of the small intestine below duodenum.
ileum: The distal and narrowest portion of the small intestine.
squamous: Flat cells that look like fish scales.
metaplasia: A condition in which there is a change of one adult cell type to another similar adult cell type.
ossification: The process of creating bone, that is of transforming cartilage (or fibrous tissue) into bone.
clastogenesis: Any process resulting in the breakage of chromosomes.
neoplastic: Abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells.
ulceration: The process or fact of being eroded away.
leucocytosis: An elevation of the total number of white cells in blood.
neutrophils: A type of white blood cell.
chromodulin: A small protein that binds four trivalent chromium ions.
biomagnification: The increased accumulation and concentration of a contaminant at higher levels of the food chain; organisms higher on the food chain will have larger amounts of contaminants than those lower on the food chain, because the contaminants are not eliminated or broken down into other chemicals within the organisms.
exencephaly: Cerebral tissue herniation through a congenital or acquired defect in the skull.
everted viscera: Rotated body organs in the chest cavity.
To Be Considered: Documents, such as federal or state guidances, that are not legally binding but may be relevant to the topic in question.
gaining: A gaining surface water body is one where groundwater flows into it.
losing: A surface water body is losing when there is a permeable sediment bed that is not in contact with the groundwater allowing the surface water to seep through it.
fluvial: Of or pertaining to flow in rivers and streams.
lacustrine: Of or pertaining to a lake as in lacustrine sediments—sediments at the bottom of a lake.
lipid: Any class of fats that are insoluble in water.
lipophilic: Able to dissolve in lipids—in this case fatty tissue.
organelles: A part of a cell such as mitochondrion, vacuole, or chloroplast that plays a specific role in how the cell functions and membranes.
RfD: The RfD is an estimate of a daily exposure of the human population (including sensitive sub-groups) to a substance that is likely to be without "the appreciable risk of deleterious effects during a lifetime." An RfD is expressed in units of mg/kg-day.
autonomic: That part of the nervous system that controls non-conscious actions such as heart rate, perspiration and digestion.
ataxia: Lack of muscle coordination.
funnel-and-gate configuration: A system where low-permeability walls (the funnel) placed in the saturated zone direct contaminated ground-water toward a permeable treatment zone (the gate)
References: ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry). 2015. Draft Toxicological Profile for Perfluoroalkyls. 574 pp.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). 2008. Opinion of the scientific panel on contaminants in the food chain on perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and their salts. EFSA Journal 653:1-131.
Hekster, F.M., R.W.P.M. Laane, and P. de Voogt. 2003. Environmental and toxicity effects of perfluoroalkylated substances. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 179:99-121.
Higgins, C. and R. Luthy. 2006. Sorption of perfluorinated surfactants on sediments. Environmental Science & Technology 40(23):7251-7256.
HSDB (Hazardous Substances Data Bank). 2012 Update. Perfluorooctanoic acid.
Kaiser, M.A., B.S. Larsen, C-P.C. Kao, and R.C. Buck. 2005. Vapor pressures of perfluorooctanoic, -nonanoic, -decanoic, -undecanoic, and -dodecanoic acids. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data 50(6):1841-1843.
Kauck, E.A. and A.R. Diesslin. 1951. Some properties of perfluorocarboxylic acids. Industrial and Engineering Chemical Research 43(10):2332-2334.
Lewis, R.J., Sr., ed. 2004. Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th ed. Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, NJ. V3:2860.
Lide, D.R. 2007. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 88th ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. 3-412.
SRC (Syracuse Research Corporation). 2016. PHYSPROP Database. SRC Scientific Databases,
Accessed May 2016.
UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program). 2015. Proposal to List Pentadecafluorooctanoic Acid (CAS No: 335-67-1, PFOA, Perfluorooctanoic Acid), Its Salts and PFOA-Related Compounds in Annexes A, B and/or C to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. UNEP/POPS/POPRC.11/5.
USEPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2016. Drinking Water Health Advisory for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA).#pdfsmall# Office of Water, EPA 822-R-16-005, 103 pp
AquaConSoil, previously known as ConSoil, is an international conference on soil-water systems in Europe. At AquaConSoil:
- Scientists are able to exchange the latest results of their fundamental research
- Engineers present progress in technical innovation
- Managers communicate about current and future technologies and business challenges
- Policy makers discuss the shaping of national and international strategies and attempt to harmonize international legislation
- Companies active in remediation, consulting, banking and insurance present and exchange news, knowledge and practice
- International networks meet and present themselves to a broad audience.
AquaConSoil 2017, Lyon, France
The 14th International AquaConSoil Conference focused on sustainable use and management of soil, sediment and water resources. The USEPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (TIFSD) contributed to this event by presenting information in a training session and poster.
- SpS 4a.1: Implementation of Treatment Technologies and Innovative Remediation Practices in the USEPA Superfund Program
Organizers: Carlos S. Pachon and Stephen A. Dyment (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
Since the inception of the Superfund program in the United States, federal, state and local governments, and private industry have invested billions of dollars annually to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous waste and petroleum products. A technology innovation program was established early in Superfund for the advancement of promising state-of the-art technologies and tools for streamlining and improving the cost, performance and duration of site cleanups. In this session, EPA experts from the technology innovation program presented a summary of recent analyses on trends in the use of innovative technologies and engineering practices at Superfund sites.
The 90-minute session included recent insights on the selection of treatment technologies, including an analysis of how remedies are combined and managed to gain maximum leverage of their strengths. Combined remedies address site contamination spatially and temporally to capitalize on synergies between technologies and help meet remedial action objectives. The session also summarized findings from over two hundred remedy optimization efforts conducted at major Superfund remediation projects. An analysis of more than 700 unique optimization recommendations identified five major recommendation categories; remedy effectiveness, technical improvement, cost reduction, site closure and green remediation.
- Poster Session: Westward Expansion to Urban Remediation and Watershed Reclamation — US EPA Superfund Optimization Lessons Learned at Legacy Mining and Smelter Sites in the American West
Organizers: Carlos S. Pachon and Stephen A. Dyment (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
Westward expansion and development in the American West includes a history rich in mining and smelting operations. This same legacy has resulted in tens of thousands of historical and abandoned hard rock mine and smelter sites throughout the Western United States. The most contaminated and dangerous sites are often addressed through EPA's Superfund removal and remedial programs. These large remote mining sites and historical smelters in populated areas can each present unique and significant challenges to characterization, risk assessment, and remediation. Smelter sites in residential settings often focus on metals exposures from soil and dust while mining sites and districts can present challenges from metals contamination in groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment.
This 90-minute session explored the evolution of addressing mine and smelter sites in the US EPA Superfund program and presented a series of best practices identified through recent optimization reviews of existing remedies. The best practices reflect programmatic challenges as well as opportunities to approach these sites from a watershed perspective seeking to characterize and remediate these sites using a holistic approach. This session identified characterization strategies, tools, and techniques along with passive/active remediation technologies currently operated in the Superfund program, soil amendments, and other techniques that highlight EPA's efforts to address mining sites in the most sustainable and protective manner. For smelter-related sites, the session discussed historical efforts to address lead, arsenic and other smelter related metals in residential soil while providing the latest findings and best practices associated with the use of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and incremental sampling for residential soil and indoor dust at Superfund sites.
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AquaConSoil 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark
The 13th International AquaConSoil Conference focused on sustainable use and management of soil, sediment and water resources. The USEPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (TIFSD) contributed to this event by presenting information in three training sessions and one panel session.
- SpS 1A.7S. US EPA Session 1: Best Practices for Site Characterization (7.2MB/37pp/PDF)
Organizers: Carlos S. Pachon and Stephen A. Dyment (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
A clear theme arising from EPA's optimization studies is the need for more accurate characterization of site conditions to ensure remedy efficiency and success. The goal of the session was to share our lessons learned, discuss opportunities and challenges with professionals in the audience and to gain insights from the experiences of others. This session presented an overview of efforts to "optimize" site characterization, including leveraging the use of existing site data, the importance and application of a "life-cycle" Conceptual Site Model (CSM), the use of high resolution site characterization techniques to improve the design and implementation of groundwater remedies, the use of incremental sampling methodologies to improve the representativeness of characterization of soils, and the use of newer visualization tools to better plan and monitor site cleanup.
- SpS 1C.30S. US EPA Session 2: Evolution of Optimization and other Key Trends in Cleanups: A Superfund Perspective (8.0MB/63pp/PDF)
Organizers: Carlos S. Pachon and Stephen A. Dyment (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
The evolution of the Superfund program has progressed from an early focus on pump & treat systems and long term monitoring networks, to a more comprehensive and holistic site evaluation conducted at any phase throughout the cleanup process. The ultimate goal is design, construction, and operation of the most efficient, effective, and protective remedies EPA and stakeholders can provide. This session explored the evolution of EPA's optimization programs and highlighted how thinking has evolved from presumptive application of large scale aggressive remediation technologies to a focus on high resolution site characterization and conceptual site model development in support of adaptive management for application of multiple targeted treatment technologies. The session was opened for a discussion on key trends in cleanup, research and development efforts, and needs faced by the cleanup community as a whole.
- SpS 1C.31S. US EPA Session 3: Optimizing remedies, greener cleanups and trends in site cleanup
Organizers: Carlos S. Pachon and Stephen A. Dyment (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
As the EPA Superfund Cleanup program moves forward with the cleanup of the most contaminated sites in the U.S., the concept of remedy optimization has become a central tenet to maximize the return on cleanup investments. This session was more in-depth and technical than session 1C.30S, focusing on trends in the use of various treatment technologies in the context of lessons learned from optimization reviews. The session also covered green remediation perspectives, including developments and findings from the application of green remediation in the U.S. Superfund and other cleanup programs and insights on the recently released American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups. The session included a brief discussion of how EPA integrates social and economic elements of sustainability in Superfund cleanups.
- SpS 1C.4S. Sustainable Remediation — avoiding greenwash by striving to demonstrate better results
Organizers: Claudio Albano (CH2M Hill & SuRF Italy & International SuRF Network), Laurent Bakker (TAUW & NICOLE SRWG)
Moderators: Jonathan Smith (Shell Global Solutions & SuRF UK), Dominique Darmendrail (COMMON FORUM on Contaminated Land in Europe)
In London 2008 Soil and Groundwater Technology Association (SAGTA) in association with Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in Europe (NICOLE) held the first European conference raising the issue of sustainability in land remediation. Concurrently Sustainable Remediation Forum-UK (SuRF-UK) along with a NICOLE Working Group on Sustainable Remediation were established providing new forums to exchange information and innovating concepts. Now there are Sustainable Remediation Fora all around the world and international knowledge exchange is well established. Over the years these networks have strived to present case studies proving the advantages of sustainable remediation but have noticed many case studies of "greenwash" instead. Decision making should be kept simple when possible and more complex if appropriate. We have noticed a trend that all kinds of complex tools and methodologies are now being used although the reasoning to choose the most suitable sustainable solution is often obvious, primarily when proper stakeholder engagement is in place. The session provided updates on activities and learnings and opportunities for discussion and networking.
- Introduction to the session
- Sustainable remediation, update on results and activities
- International cooperation (Nicola Harries; CL:AIRE, SuRF International)
- US EPA Experiences Building Sustainability into Contaminated Site Programs (Carlos Pachon; US EPA)
- The NICOLE roadmap and European experiences (Laurent Bakker; TAUW & NICOLE)
- Key findings of the 3rd Sustainable Remediation Conference at Ferrara, September 2014 (Claudio Albano; CH2MHILL, SuRF Italy)
- Discussion: International Fora and Programmes — Strengths and Weaknesses
- Are there learnings from an international exchange?
- Where are Opportunities and Threats to national SuRF chapters?
- Have you ever seen a case study providing records and demonstrating all three pillars of sustainability?
- Are we heading in the right direction, do we oversee things?
- Summary and next activities
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AquaConSoil 2013, Barcelona, Spain
The scope of the 2013 conference expanded from the prior eleven conferences to include soil-water system functions use, resource efficiency, and resource management in semiarid regions. The USEPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (TIFSD) contributed to this event by presenting information in technical and special sessions and full-day training.
- D3.3. Methods and Tools for Environmental Footprint Assessment
This technical session provided examples from the US, UK, Spain, Australia, Italy, and Belgium where various techniques for green and/or sustainable remediation were used to reduce the environmental, economic, and/or social footprint of contaminated site cleanup. The USEPA's presentation addressed "Protecting Human Health & the Environment with a Lower Environmental Footprint: US EPA's Experience to Date"
- SpS9b. Common Themes and Practice in Achieving Sustainable Remediation Worldwide, with Case Studies and Debate: Sustainable Remediation in Practice
This special session included two case studies, one in the Netherlands and one in the UK, followed by a panel discussion on international implementation of sustainable remediation approaches. The three-member panel, which consisted of representatives from industrial, cleanup service, and regulatory organizations, discussed issues such as how regulatory approaches impact sustainability, major barriers for improving sustainability in remediation, and the most important benefits of international cooperation. (Presentation [208KB/10pp/PDF])
- EPA 1,2,3. The Best Management Practices for Site Assessment, Site Remediation, and Green Remediation Footprint Reduction
The USEPA held this one-day training course to: (1) describe how best management practices (BMPs) can be used to significantly reduce data collection costs, expedite project schedules, enhance stakeholder communication, and improve project and site decision quality; (2) present an overview of available remedial technologies, considerations for selecting the appropriate remedy, specific remedial approaches, and BMPs to consider throughout the remediation process; and (3) summarize the USEPA's view on green remediation and the performance of environmental footprint assessments, as described in the USEPA's "Methodology for Understanding and Reducing a Project's Environmental Footprint" report.
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ConSoil 2010, Salzburg, Austria
The 11th International UFZ-Deltares/TNO Conference on Management of Soil, Groundwater and Sediment (aka ConSoil 2010) brought together parties from all aspects of the cleanup community to exchange ideas and experiences on the management of soil, groundwater, and sediment. Themes for the conference included restoration, new functions of the subsurface, sustainable management of land use and the subsurface, and management of contamination at a regional scale.
The USEPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (TIFSD) conducted five 90-minute training sessions; four focused on environmental cleanup optimization regimens conducted at specific project phases and one focused on how to effectively leverage a variety of U.S.-based information resources to support optimization and cleanup efforts. The training courses were taught by subject matter experts from EPA and supporting organizations and covered:
The USEPA also participated in two special sessions:
- SpS 8A. Sustainable Remediation: International Initiatives
This panel session focused on the state of international implementation of sustainable environmental remediation. Speakers included representatives from the USEPA; Environment Canada; SURF US, SURF UK, SURF NL, and SURF Australia; EURODEMO+; NICOLE; and the Common Forum. In support of this session, a draft white paper (938KB/22pp/PDF) was prepared to: define the concepts of sustainable remediation and green remediation; highlight their synergies and differences; present information on the evolution of the practices; and identify recent and future collaborations of the international organizations.
- SpS 8B. Sustainable Remediation - Case studies: Does it make a difference?
This session provided examples from the US, UK, and Australia where green and/or sustainable remediation aspects were considered in either remedy selection or during implementation of site remediation. Case studies provided information on particular constraints given by regulatory frames or within participatory processes. The USEPA's presentation addressed, "Greening Environmental Cleanups with Traditional and Innovative Technologies" (Abstract [61KB/1p/PDF]) (Presentation [1MB/18pp/PDF])
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ConSoil 2008, Milano, Italy
The 10th ConSoil Conference continued the successful program of previous ConSoil events. Besides the traditional ConSoil focus on contamination of soil and groundwater, ConSoil 2008 again dealt with the functioning of soil-water systems. With this multi-media focus, ConSoil 2008 followed the European Union policy that aimed at sound and integrated management of soil-water systems in Europe. ConSoil stayed the platform to exchange news and knowledge among scientists, policy makers, consultants/service providers, administrators, site owners/river basin managers, remediation companies/contractors, and banking and insurance companies.
USEPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (TIFSD) participated at ConSoil by conducting numerous training sessions. Through panel discussions, TIFSD provided a perspective on the expanding influence of specific best management and technical practices and introduced the concept of green remediation.
- Introduction to the Tools and Mechanics of Systematic Planning (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [16.7MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [4.90MB/PDF])
Under the US EPA's Triad approach a comprehensive systematic planning process has been shown to significantly enhance stakeholder acceptance, project team functionality, technical planning, uncertainty management, and overall project success at hazardous waste sites. Within a Triad framework, systematic project planning (SPP) extends beyond data quality objectives to include social, economic, and political factors that can have a significant impact on project outcomes. Conceptual site models (CSMs) play a critical role in project planning as project teams seek to recognize, identify, and manage uncertainty related to technical, regulatory, and fiscal project constraints.
This workshop will provide a framework and an overview of tools available to assist project teams with comprehensive SPP. Practical considerations associated with expected regulatory frameworks, property re-use, potential remedies, performance metrics, applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs), and other critical factors will be discussed in the context of developing exit strategies and achieving a consensus site vision.
Participants will be exposed to a "briefcase" containing templates, examples, resources, and process assistance gear that accompanies many successful team leaders to systematic planning meetings. The tools and mechanics showcased should provide sufficient flexibility to incorporate many of these planning best management practices into your environmental programs. Discussions of the impact of available contacting mechanisms, decision criteria development, contingencies, dynamic work strategies, and activity sequencing are provided in an effort to streamline field activities and compress project timeframes to achieve time and cost savings. The importance of data management, field decision authority, remote stakeholder participation, and quality assurance/quality control will also be highlighted to provide a cross walk between critical project elements and available tools or strategies.
- Conducting a Demonstration of Method Applicability and Designing Quality Control Programs for X-Ray Fluorescence in Soil (Presenter Bio)
(MS PowerPoint [6.36MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [1.80MB/PDF])
Field portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrumentation is now commonly used for many applications within the environmental industry. Although years of experience indicates that XRF provides fast, accurate, high quality, defensible information many environmental professionals still consider XRF data as "field screening". In an effort to move beyond conventional XRF expectations, the US EPA's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division has developed a 90 minute presentation exploring the benefits of conducting a demonstration of method applicability (DMA) and incorporating the results into a comprehensive quality control (QC) program.
The session will discuss strategies for designing DMAs and using collaborative data sets to develop and refine QC programs for field applications of XRF. Particular emphasis will be placed on the "real-time" value of XRF information and how appropriately structured QC programs can provide high quality defensible data similar to information expected from many of today's common laboratory analyses. Presenters will provide examples of DMA outputs, types of QC samples and activities, as well as the development and use of collaborative relationships between XRF and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analyses. The session is expected to touch on potential pitfalls and limitations as well as previously employed successful strategies for using XRF effectively in decision making.
- Green Remediation: Evolving Best Management Practices (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [3.95MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [1.18MB/PDF])
Business sectors around the world are "going green" in order to become better environmental stewards and the business of cleaning up and revitalizing contaminated sites is no different. In recent years EPA has sought to increase the sustainability of redevelopment at previously contaminated sites. More recently there has been increasing interest in EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) in identifying best practices that will help reduce the environmental footprint of the actual site cleanup activities. The concept is being termed "green remediation".
"Green remediation" is the practice of considering all environmental effects of remedy implementation, and incorporating options to maximize net environmental benefit of contaminated site cleanup projects. Sustainable cleanup practices place greater emphasis on considering a project's energy requirements, air emissions, water consumption, impacts on land and ecosystems, material consumption and waste generation, and impacts on long-term stewardship of a site. The concept of green remediation builds on environmentally conscious practices already used across business and public sectors, but seeks ways to adapt and adopt state-of-the-art practices and products to reduce the environmental footprints at cleanup projects, regardless of the regulatory framework. The session will focus on exactly how a site cleanup can go greener, examining our usual ways of doing business to find more opportunities to conserve natural resources and energy.
- The Critical Role of Data Management (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [13.3MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [5.99MB/PDF])
Using conceptual site modeling as a foundation, participants in this technical session will learn how to best manage the many types and large quantities of data that often flow from real-time data collection tools and other data sources during site investigation and cleanup activities. These data management approaches will be coupled with the use of decision support tools and advanced visualization software to better understand and communicate site information. Collaborative work environments created virtually to reach team members also will be explored. Participants will gain an appreciation of an expanded site data and information life cycle, from collection, transfer, and storage to processing, analysis, decision-making, visualization, and communication to support effective decision making and site management.
- Triad Best Management Practices Part 1 - Conceptual Site Model Case Studies (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [50.7MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [7.78MB/PDF])
Robust conceptual site models (CSM) are essential to project success throughout any site cleanup. Initial or preliminary conceptual site models serve as planning tools for the technical project team to conceptualize and visualize what is known or unknown about a site in terms of contaminants of concern, contaminant distribution, geology, hydrogeology, receptor pathway networks, historical activities, and a host of other critical information. By capturing this information in a holistic CSM that incorporates text, tables, figures, and 3D visualizations, project technical teams can efficiently prioritize and address potential data gaps, uncertainties, or stakeholder concerns. Particularly with contentious sites, the CSM serves as a facilitation tool where competing site visions are verified or disproved and resources can be applied in the most cost effective manner to meet project decision criteria.
As the project matures, the CSM serves as a living representation of site realities as they unfold. Continuous updates provide the framework for public presentations and technical planning for remediation evaluations, cleanup implementation, or monitoring remedy effectiveness. This session will explore in depth several case studies where sound CSMs were the linchpin for sampling design, project communication, stakeholder consensus, and ultimate project success.
- Triad Best Management Practices Part 2 - Dynamic Work Strategies Case Studies (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [61.4MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [9.99MB/PDF])
Dynamic work strategies (DWS) allow effective use of real-time measurements to drive field activities. Efficient DWS are critical to increasing data density expeditiously to target site uncertainties while controlling project costs and maximizing resources. A carefully planned DWS includes contingencies for when technologies or strategies don't work as planned and help to streamline the data collection process by providing a flexible decision framework driven by field decisions. Stakeholders and technical team members not on site during field activities still provide critical input through web based collaboration tools and visualization packages.
This session will provide an in depth look at several case studies where DWS were not only successfully employed but critical in data collection efforts necessary to make project decisions. The case studies will highlight how decision logic developed during systematic planning was used to drive sampling design and target areas of concern in real time.
- Sampling Design Avoiding Pitfalls in Environmental Sampling - Part 1 (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [2.91MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [1.22MB/PDF])
The sampling design sessions focus on contaminated soils and provide a look at designs that extend beyond simple random or "gridded" grab-sample formats. More advanced designs can reduce sampling and analytical costs while simultaneously improving data quality and usability. This session is presented using common sense concepts (not statistical equations) such that project managers can provide confident and critical reviews of proposed sampling designs and communicate data needs to their contractors. More technical audiences will be exposed to advanced sampling designs that target many of the real world uncertainties related to sampling while providing context to analytical uncertainties that have been the focus of most historical quality control activities.
Difficulties posed by generating data from heterogeneous environmental media such as soils, sediments, and groundwater aquifers are evaluated. Strategies that apply to newer technologies and best practices that often outperform older strategies are described while data sets from actual sites illustrate the pitfalls of some older practices. Particular attention is paid to the concept of defining decisions and decisions units such that representative samples can be collected. Sample designs for searching vs. parameter estimation are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of designs that utilize non-traditional methods such as multi-incremental sampling and adaptive compositing.
- Sampling Design Avoiding Pitfalls in Environmental Sampling - Part 2 (Presenter Bios)
(MS PowerPoint [2.65MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [1.38MB/PDF])
The sampling design sessions focus on contaminated soils and provide a look at designs that extend beyond simple random or "gridded" grab-sample formats. More advanced designs can reduce sampling and analytical costs while simultaneously improving data quality and usability. This session is presented using common sense concepts (not statistical equations) such that project managers can provide confident and critical reviews of proposed sampling designs and communicate data needs to their contractors. More technical audiences will be exposed to advanced sampling designs that target many of the real world uncertainties related to sampling while providing context to analytical uncertainties that have been the focus of most historical quality control activities.
Difficulties posed by generating data from heterogeneous environmental media such as soils, sediments, and groundwater aquifers are evaluated. Strategies that apply to newer technologies and best practices that often outperform older strategies are described while data sets from actual sites illustrate the pitfalls of some older practices. Particular attention is paid to the concept of defining decisions and decisions units such that representative samples can be collected. Sample designs for searching vs. parameter estimation are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of designs that utilize non-traditional methods such as multi-incremental sampling and adaptive compositing.
- U.S. - European Union Panel (Presenter Bio)
(MS PowerPoint [0.56MB/PPT])
(Adobe Acrobat [0.12MB/PDF])
Environmental professionals from both sides of the Atlantic are increasingly collaborating and sharing their experiences in improving approaches to contaminated site cleanups. In this spirit, experts from the United States and Europe will discuss the state of the practice in environmental clean-up projects, focusing on how lessons learned can be readily adopted by regulators, practitioners, and clients of environmental services companies. The panelists will draw from their experiences in achieving increased cost-effectiveness and success rates at projects by employing systematic planning and other components of the Triad (see EPA Technical Seminar Series), and from green remediation practices that are reducing the environmental footprint of contaminated site cleanups. Considerations may include technical difficulties, regulatory and policy obstacles, and business practices that foster or impede such practices.
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ConSoil 2005, Bordeaux, France
During ConSoil 2005, a set of panel sessions entitled "25 Years of Contaminated Land Management - Achievements and Work Still to Be Done" was presented and for the first time in ConSoil history, the live audience was joined by additional participants via the Internet and telephone. The panel sessions discussed the fact that in the 1980s, several countries around the world were confronted with soil contamination as a 'new', but very real threat. The sessions reflected on what happened, described the status, and peeked into the future.
Panel 1: Shifts in Contaminated Site Management in the EU and US
Panel 2: From Site Screening to Redevelopment, Progress in Every Step
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