Technology Innovation News Survey

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Concord, MA.
Contract Opportunities at Beta.SAM, Solicitation W912WJ21X0021, 2021

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is issuing this sources sought announcement for remediation services at the PR-58 site in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, to determine interest, availability and capability of 8(a), HUBZone, service-disabled veteran-owned, woman-owned, and other small business concerns under NAICS code 562910 (750 employee size standard). Chlorinated VOCs, primarily trichloroethene and tetrachloroethane, have been identified in the source area at concentrations >10,000 ug/kg in soil and 70,000 ug/L in groundwater. This sources sought is to address source area contaminants only. A follow-on remedial contract will be awarded at a later date, currently anticipated to be 2025, to address downgradient dissolved-phase contamination. Capability statements are due by 2:00 PM ET on May 24, 2021. https://beta.sam.gov/opp/4f7bb941f37b40d18f0c5c7263c79088/view

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific, JBPHH, Hawaii.
Contract Opportunities at Beta.SAM, Solicitation N62742-20-R-1801, 2021

This is a total small business set-aside procurement to obtain services under a cost-plus-award-fee IDIQ-type contract for performing remedial actions at environmentally contaminated sites located predominantly at Navy and Marine Corps installations and other Government agencies. Period of performance is 12 months from date of contract award with four 12-month options and one option to extend services up to six months, not to exceed 66 months. Total maximum value of the contract is $245M, including options (if exercised). Offers are due by 2:00 PM Hawaii Time on June 16, 2021. https://beta.sam.gov/opp/c0c008ba2c4c4c3ea4f137c8ff2eea81/view

U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, 2021

To help meet the need for better ways to monitor toxicity in water, EPA and partners are launching the Water Toxicity Sensor Challenge. The Challenge calls on innovators to develop a sensor that can identify whether one or more chemical pollutants and natural toxins are present in various types of water much faster and less expensively than current lab methods for detecting individual, specific chemicals. Certain chemicals can activate various toxicity pathways inside living cells and disrupt normal biological processes, like breathing or digestion, which can lead to harmful health effects. Although the sensor might not identify a specific contaminant/toxin, it should be able to measure or quantitate the level of activation of one or more toxicity pathways when the sensor is exposed to water that contains relevant amounts of contaminants/toxins targeting the pathway(s). EPA intends to select up to three finalists to receive awards of $15,000 each from a total award pool of $45,000 for proposals that meets all requirements. Submissions must be received by 11:59 PM ET on July 26, 2021. This Challenge is a collaborative effort of the U.S. EPA, USGS, NOAA, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, Greater Cincinnati Water Works, and Water Research Foundation. https://www.epa.gov/innovation/water-toxicity-sensor-challenge AND https://innocentive.wazoku.com/#/challenge/89cf14146dbe4d40a5a94ea823d34c05

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Tulsa District, Tulsa, OK.
Contract Opportunities at Beta.SAM, Solicitation W912BV-21-R-0023, 2021

This acquisition is a HUBZone small business set-aside under NAICS code 562910 to provide a full range of environmental remediation services (ERS) to support projects assigned to the USACE Southwestern Division Regional Planning and Environmental Center, the Southwestern Division, and the South Pacific Division. The USACE Tulsa District intends to award a $40M small business MATOC (multiple-award task-order contract) with a target of up to 10 indefinite-delivery contracts (IDCs) for ERS projects. Contracts will have a base period of three years and one two-year option. Services under the awarded IDCs include control and remediation of environmental contamination from pollutants, toxic substances, radioactive materials, hazardous materials, munitions and explosives of concern, and munitions constituents. Proposals are due by 3:00 PM CT on July 28, 2021. https://beta.sam.gov/opp/515427ad924b44ba8ca8a5044b7fc98b/view

Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, CA.
Contract Opportunities at Beta.SAM, Solicitation N3943021S2201, 2021

This announcement constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NEXWC) under NAICS code 541715. Abstract submittals to this BAA can be made using the form attached to the notice at beta.sam. NEXWC is interested in environmental technologies and methodologies that are either new, innovative, advance the state-of-the art, or increase knowledge or understanding of a technology or methodology in the following topic areas: (1) Environmental assessment, restoration and cleanup. (2) Conservation of natural resources. (3) Unexploded ordnance detection, location, de-energizing, disposal or remediation. (4) Technologies and methodologies addressing emerging contaminants. (5) Environmental compliance. (6) Resilient infrastructure crucial for enduring environmental protection. (7) Remote sensing and web-based data processing, modeling and reporting of environmental data. This funding opportunity is open for one year from date of publication, i.e., until March 17, 2022. Proposals may be submitted at any time during this period. https://beta.sam.gov/opp/38dbd45ff6c043799eb4e0aa900d90c2/view

Dombrowski, P. | DCHWS 2021 Design and Construction at Hazardous Waste Sites Virtual Symposium, 29-30 March and 1 April, Virtual, 19 slides, 2021

Presentation describes an application of ISCO to treat bedrock groundwater contamination. It looks at the lessons learned over four injections of sodium persulfate to treat bedrock contaminated with PCE DNAPL. https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/DCHWS16/slides/3Slide_Presentation_for_Paul_M._Dombrowski,_P.E.,_ISOTEC.pdf

Favara, P., P. Zorba, K. Brown, R. Dean, J. Hartley, P. Lawson, and D. Patterson.
DCHWS 2021 Design and Construction at Hazardous Waste Sites Virtual Symposium, 29-30 March and 1 April, Virtual, 20 slides, 2021

This presentation looks at the challenges of characterizing and remediating contamination in fractured sandstone at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and the benefits of adaptive management at complex sites. Groundwater extraction and treatment, enhanced in situ bioremediation, bedrock vapor extraction, and monitored natural attenuation are evaluated. https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/DCHWS16/slides/6Slide_Presentation_for_Paul_Favara,_P.E._Jacobs.pdf
More information on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory remediation project: https://ssfl.msfc.nasa.gov/

Germon, E.M. | DCHWS 2021 Design and Construction at Hazardous Waste Sites Virtual Symposium, 29-30 March and 1 April, Virtual, 14 slides, 2021

This presentation highlights the positive outcomes of optimizing the final remedial systems and their operations, maintenance, and monitoring under a performance-based contract. Cost savings and accelerated closure at four Installation Restoration Program sites are detailed. https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/DCHWS16/slides/7Slide_Presentation_for_E._Matt_Germon,_P.E.;_Jacobs.pdf

Kim, J. | DCHWS 2021 Design and Construction at Hazardous Waste Sites Virtual Symposium, 29-30 March and 1 April, Virtual, 17 slides, 2021

Presentation details the construction of the ET cover remedy at Operable Unit 1, Clearview Landfill, at the Lower Darby Creek Area site in Pennsylvania. The landfill footprint includes the landfill as well as an adjacent park and neighborhood, requiring the removal of surface soil in residential yards. Other elements of the presentation include ET cover performance monitoring, a flood study, stream restoration, and the establishment of research nurseries. https://clu-in.org/conf/tio/DCHWS16/slides/12Slide_Presentation_for_JC_Kim_Ph.D.,_P.E.;_Tetra_Tech.pdf

Brab, B. | SMART Remediation, 13 February, virtual, 18 slides, 2021

Cleanup goals at fractured bedrock sites are difficult to achieve on time or within budget because of dated and inefficient technologies. A key to bedrock remediation is to treat lower transmissive zones and zones of residual contaminant storage in addition to the highly transmissive zones. The presentation focuses on the injection of slurries into bedrock using a combination of custom narrow-interval packers and a unique injection unit (flow rate up to 950 liters per minute and pressure up to 3,000 psi/205 bar), which allows focused treatment using high-energy access to the smaller aperture fracture networks. Being able to isolate and treat these zones can be a key to success at difficult fractured bedrock sites. https://2ziapbmm3zh1x23mj335vjxt-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SMART-Remediation-Virtual-Session-3-Feb-18-2021-Bill-Brab.pdf
See YouTube recording of webinar by D. Pizzaro and B. Brab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr7kYHDPrnk

Crawford, S., XDD Environmental Webinar, 3 June, 61 minutes, 2020

This webinar provides a basic understanding of the state-of-the-art design and implementation for ISCO applications. It explains the value of pre-design evaluations, when pilot tests are useful, and the difference between configurations, as well as different full-scale application configurations and their common pitfalls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HPUpYLBzlE
Slides only: https://www.xdd-llc.com/ISCO-Webinar-2020.pdf

Poduri, S. and B.V.N.P. Kambhammettu. | Groundwater 59(2):214-225(2021)

A pilot point‐based hydraulic tomography (HT) inversion, in conjunction with a geophysical a priori model, was used to estimate the hydraulic and storage properties of a heterogeneous aquifer system in a region of India. The a priori model involved combining electrical resistivity tomography inversion and field data from hydrogeological experiments to obtain soil stratification data. Pilot‐point densities were assigned according to soil stratification. The forward groundwater flow model, HydroGeoSphere, was supplied to the parameter estimation tool to perform HT inversion. Performance of the inverted models was evaluated by conducting independent pumping tests and statistical analyses of the model‐to‐measurement discrepancies in drawdowns. The results suggest that using the a priori model could improve the parameter estimation process.

Franke, V., M. Ullberg, P. McCleaf, M. Walinder, S.J. Kohler, and L. Ahrens.
ACS ES&T Water [Published online 29 January 2021 prior to print]

A six-month nanofiltration (NF) pilot was conducted at a drinking water treatment plant in Sweden. NF removed >98% of PFAS and met other water quality targets, such as the removal of uranium-238, dissolved organic carbon, and mineral hardness from the raw water. The concentrate from the pilot plant was treated with two different granular activated carbon (GAC) materials and two different anion exchange (AIX) resins in column tests. AIX exhibited superior performance in PFAS removal compared to GAC. Treatment costs were found to be largely dependent on the PFAS drinking water treatment goals and concentrate discharge requirements.

Denham, M.E., M.B Amidon, H.M. Wainwright, B. Dafflon, J. Ajo-Franklin, and C.A. Eddy-Dilek. | Environmental Management 66:1142-1161(2020)

A long-term monitoring strategy is proposed for contaminated groundwater with residual contamination on the subsurface. The strategy focuses on measuring the hydrological and geochemical parameters that control attenuation or remobilization of contaminants while de-emphasizing contaminant-concentration measurements. The approach was demonstrated at a site in South Carolina where groundwater is contaminated by several radionuclides, and a comprehensive enhanced attenuation remedy was implemented to minimize discharge of contamination to surface water. The proposed long-term monitoring strategy combines subsurface and surface measurements using spectroscopic tools, geophysical tools, and sensors to monitor the parameters controlling contaminant attenuation. This approach can detect the possibility of contaminant remobilization from engineered and natural attenuation zones, allowing potential adverse changes to be mitigated before contaminant attenuation is reversed.

Fagerlund, F., G. Niarchos, L. Ahrens, D. Berggren Kleja, J. Bergman, A. Larsson, G. Leonard, J. Forde, J. Edvinsson, K. Holmstrom, H. Persson, and L. Gottby.
European Geosciences Union General Assembly, 4-8 May, Virtual, poster, 2020

In situ stabilization of PFAS by injection of colloidal activated carbon (CAC, PlumeStop®) was investigated at a contaminated site in Sweden. CAC was injected to create a defined zone where PFAS from the contaminant plume would sorb to CAC and be removed from the flowing groundwater, similar to a permeable reactive barrier. The effect of the injected CAC was studied by monitoring PFAS concentrations in the groundwater upgradient and downgradient, as well as within the CAC barrier before and after injection. The low-pressure injections were designed and adapted to avoid excessive preferential flow of CAC and achieve a good distribution in the intended treatment zone. Preliminary results indicated a strong reduction of all measured PFAS within and directly downgradient of the CAC barrier, which suggests that the installation of the CAC barrier was successful despite a relatively complex geological setting where fast preferential flow paths exist. Monitoring will indicate how the CAC performs over time. https://presentations.copernicus.org/EGU2020/EGU2020-17615_presentation.pdf

Fiorentino, E.A., S. Warden, M. Bano, P. Sailhac, and T. Perrier.
AIMS Geosciences, 7(1):1-21(2021)

A geophysical survey was performed on an industrial site impacted by a chlorinated DNAPL to identify the location of contamination in the saturated zone. Sediments in the unsaturated zone were first excavated and treated. Geophysical measurements were then conducted at the bottom of the excavated pit. While electrical resistivity tomography yielded little information, ground-penetrating radar helped identify a possible source location. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03117514/document

Engelmann, C., K.S. Lari, L. Schmidt, C.J. Werth, and M. Walther.
Journal of Hazardous Materials 407:124741(2021)

Multiple laboratory trials were conducted to study DNAPL source zone formation. A multiphase flow model to simulate source zone formation in a Monte Carlo approach was used where the parameter space was defined by the variation of retention curve parameters. Integral and geometric measures were used to characterize the source zones and implemented into a multi-criteria objective function. The latter showed good agreement between observation data and simulation results for effective DNAPL saturation values > 0.04, especially for early stages of DNAPL migration. The common hypothesis that parameters defining the DNAPL-water retention curves are constant over time was not confirmed. Once DNAPL pooling started, the optimal fit in the parameter space was significantly different compared to the earlier DNAPL migration stages. More complex processes were speculated to become relevant during pool formation. Results revealed deficits in the grayscale-DNAPL saturation relationship definition and laboratory estimation of DNAPL-water retention curve parameters.

Mallick, S.K. and S. Chakraborty. | Journal of Environmental Management 288:112430(2021)

Anoxic and aerobic moving bed reactors operated were used to treat petroleum refinery wastewater contaminated with phenol (750 mg/L), emulsified crude oil (300 mg/L), S₂⁻ (750 mg/L), NH₄⁺-N (350 mg/L), and NO₃⁻-N (1000 mg/L). The system's efficacy was analyzed by examining GC-MS and FTIR peaks of the influent and effluent pollutant concentrations and biomass activity studies. The system was found to have a removal efficiency for organics and inorganics greater than 99% at 80 h HRT and 64 h cycle time.

Lahvis, M.A. and R.A. Ettinger.
Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation [Published online 13 April 2021 prior to print]

A database was compiled consisting of 8,415 paired indoor and subsurface vapor samples collected from 485 buildings at 36 sites in California to derive a technically defensible attenuation factor (AF) for subsurface vapor screening. Data that was potentially affected by background sources was excluded, which reduced the size of the database to 788 indoor air and subsurface vapor pairs; 80% of the data pairs consisted of TCE measurements. An AF of 0.0008 was derived from only TCE vapor data.

Lara-Moreno, A., E. Morillo, F. Merchan, and J. Villaverde.
Journal of Environmental Management 289:112512(2021)

The capacity of an isolated soil microbial consortium (OMC) to biodegrade PAHs was assessed. OMC was able to reach 100% biodegradation of naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, and phenanthrene in solution, and up to 76% and 50% of anthracene and fluoranthene, respectively, from a mix of 16 PAHs. A novel Stenotrophomonas maltophilia CPHE1, not previously described as a PAH degrader, was able to mineralize almost 40% phenanthrene (PHE) and biodegrade 90.5% in solution. Based on metabolites identified during PHE degradation and on the detection of two genes (PAH RHDα and nahAc) in OMC consortium, salicylic and phthalic acid were considered as two possible mechanisms for PHE degradation. PAH RHDα, which codified the first step on PHE biodegradation pathway, was also found in the DNA of S. maltophilia CPHE1. An ecotoxicology study showed that inoculating PHE-contaminated solution with S. maltophilia CPHE1 for 30 days decreased the solution toxicity by half.

Ryan, J.V. and B. Gullett. SERDP Project ER19-1408, 1193 pp, 2020

This study demonstrated the application of a pre-sampling surrogate (PSS) to indicate overall quantitative measurement performance for targeted PFAS using modified EPA Method 0010 sampling train and associated analyses. PSS recoveries averaged 100.3% for PFOA and 70.3% for PFOS. No evidence of the PSS compounds migrating from the XAD-2 resin traps to the impingers during sampling was found, even in an extremely high moisture environment. EPA was able to proceed with preparing a formal test method for quantitative, targeted PFAS emissions measurements. This method is now identified as DRAFT Other Test Method (OTM) 45, a candidate EPA Test Method recommended to measure targeted PFAS compounds from stationary sources. https://www.serdp-estcp.org/content/download/53129/522786/file/ER19-1408%20Final%20Report.pdf

Garcia-Cervilla, R., A. Romero, A. Santos, and D. Lorenzo.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17:4494(2020)

The solubilization of 28 chlorinated organic compounds (COCs) contained in DNAPL by applying aqueous surfactants was investigated at a site in Spain. Three nonionic surfactants (E-Mulse® 3 (E3), Tween®80 (T80), and a mixture of Tween®80-Span®80 (TS80)) and an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) were applied. The initial concentrations of surfactants were tested within the range of 3-17 g/L. The uptake of nonionic surfactants into the organic phase was higher than the anionic surfactants. Solubilization of COCs with the nonionic surfactants showed similar molar solubilization ratios (MSR) (MSR = 4.33 mmolCOCs/g surf), which was higher than solubilization with application of SDS (MSR = 0.70 mmolCOCs/g SDS). The nonionic surfactants did not produce preferential solubilization of COCs; meanwhile, SDS preferentially dissolved the more polar compounds in DNAPL. The time required to reach phase equilibrium was between 24 and 48 h. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7345101/pdf/ijerph-17-04494.pdf

Seo, H.-W., J.Y. Oh, and W.G. Shin.
Nuclear Engineering and Technology 53(1): 234-243(2021)

This paper discusses developing a preliminary list of potential radionuclides for the decommissioning of the Kori Unit 1 nuclear power plant (NPP). The list of initial radionuclides was made by referring to the technical documents applied at decommissioned NPPs in the U.S. and additional reference materials from the operation of NPPs in Korea. For the screening of insignificant radionuclides, we applied A criterion of less than 0.1% of the amount of radioactivity inventory was applied for screening of insignificant radionuclides; the dose fraction was confirmed using the RESRAD code. The methodology and results for the selection of potential radionuclides suggested in this paper offer insight to establishing derived concentration guideline levels in relation to site remediation of decommissioning nuclear plants. This paper is Open Access at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1738573320301650

Liang, S., J.Chen, M. Guo, D. Feng, L. Liu, and T. Qi.
Waste Management 105:425-432(2020)

The feasibility of using municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) to strengthen pretreated cement-stabilized soil was evaluated. After pretreatment, MSWIFA samples with ratios of 5% and 10% were blended into soil stabilized with ordinary Portland cement (OPC) at various concentrations. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS), internal friction angle, and cohesion of the cement-stabilized soil increased with OPC and pretreated MSWIFA. The same effect was observed on UCS after the addition of 10% pretreated fly ash (PFA) as replacement of 5% OPC. Results indicated that leaching of chromium and lead in MSWIFA was reduced by 67% and 89%, respectively, and suggested that the incorporation of PFA as a supplementary material can effectively accelerate the formation of hydration products and thus provide cleaner options for foundation reinforcement.

Naval Facilities Engineering Command, 4 pp, 2021

This fact sheet discusses recent applications of a continuous monitoring (CM) technology that provides real-time, quantitative measurements of contaminant concentrations in indoor air. CM can help to address site-specific building conditions that influence the VI pathway over time. https://www.navfac.navy.mil/content/dam/navfac/Specialty%20Centers/Engineering%20and%20Expeditionary%20Warfare%20Center/Environmental/Restoration/er_pdfs/d/ContinuousMonitoring_FactSheet.pdf

Eskew, D. for the NAVFAC Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, 17 pp, 2020

Incremental sampling methodology (ISM) is a structured composite sampling and processing protocol that is designed to reduce data variability and provide a reasonably unbiased estimate of mean contaminant concentrations in a volume of soil. ISM was designed to provide representative samples from specific soil volumes called decision units. This memorandum describes the advantages and limitations of using an ISM approach, while accounting for Department of the Navy (DON) site types that may or may not be suitable for its use. Other factors for DON Remedial Project Managers to consider in the selection of ISM over traditional discrete or grab soil sampling methods are also examined. https://www.navfac.navy.mil/content/dam/navfac/Specialty%20Centers/Engineering%20and%20Expeditionary%20Warfare%20Center/Environmental/Restoration/er_pdfs/i/Final%20ISM%20Tech%20Memo%20August%202020.pdf

Wang, Y., Z. Cai, S. Sheng, F. Pan, F. Chen, and J. Fu.
Science of The Total Environment 701:134736(2020)

This article summarizes the natural materials, agricultural/industrial wastes, and artificial materials that can be applied in constructed wetlands, including their sources and physicochemical properties, removal capacities for water contaminants including nutrients, heavy metals, surfactants, pesticides/herbicides, emerging contaminants, and fecal indicator bacteria. A scoring model to evaluate substrates was constructed based on likely cost, availability, permeability, reuse, and contaminant removal capacities. The information improves understanding of CWs substrate and helps solve practical problems on substrates selection and CWs construction.

Office of Research and Development, 16 and 23 September, virtual, 2020

ORD hosted PFAS Science Webinars on September 16 and 23, 2020 s. These webinars provided PFAS information and research updates to Region 1 and New England states and tribes. The first webinar included an overview of ongoing PFAS research and technical support activities, analytical methods for PFAS in environmental media, and PFAS treatment in drinking water and wastewater. The second webinar focused on more recent research topics, including PFAS disposal and destruction, PFAS air emissions, transport and deposition, and PFAS in biosolids. https://www.epa.gov/research-states/pfas-science-webinars-epa-region-1-and-state-tribal-partners

Raza, A., M. Habib, S.N. Kakavand, Z. Zahid, N. Zahra, R. Sharif, and M. Hasanuzzaman.
Biology 9:177(2020)

In this review, the authors outline the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms involved in Cd phytoremediation. A focus on the potential of omics and genetic engineering strategies is documented for the efficient remediation of a Cd-contaminated environment. This paper is Open Access at https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/9/7/177.

Tran, H.-T., C. Lin, X.-T. Bui, H.-H. Ngo, N.K. Cheruiyot, H.-G. Hoang, and C.-T. Vu.
Science of The Total Environment 753:142250(2020)

This article reviews the use of aerobic composting to remediate soil contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons. The studies reviewed demonstrate that composting technology can treat TPH contamination (as high as 380,000 mg/kg) in clay, silt, and sandy soils. Most studies reported removal efficiencies of 70%-99%.

Nicholson, P., D. Mali, and T.A. McAlary
Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation [Published online 13 April 2021 prior to print]

A simplified method is described for calculating a building‐specific sub-slab-to-indoor air attenuation factor using data collected during pressure‐field extension testing. A simplified method to calculate the radius of influence for a conventional suction point using a mass flux‐balance model is provided. The analysis is based on measuring the extraction flow rate, cross‐slab applied vacuum at a radial distance of 3 feet, and cross‐slab applied vacuum at a radial distance of 10 feet. The method provides practitioners with a rapid and useful screening‐level assessment of whether the benefits of reduced mitigation system costs warrant an investment in a more detailed mathematical analysis of the flow and vacuum data. It may also help practitioners make real‐time decisions regarding placement of communication test points during pressure‐field extension testing.