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SUSTAINABILITY INDEX FOR COMPARISON OF ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES
Bird, S., A. Smoot, and A. Kramer.
WM2017: Waste Management Conference, March 5-9, 2017, Phoenix, Arizona. Paper 17492, 2017

The sustainability index is a quantitative test developed in response to a study published by scientists at the Hanford Site that details an exit strategy for pump-and-treat (P&T) remediation technologies. The aim is to move away from active remediation in favor of passive techniques. The sustainability index attempts to quantify the relative sustainability of active and passive remediation strategies by examining 10 metrics encompassing environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability and perspectives from those involved in the decision-making process. Data from active and passive remediation technologies evaluated at Mound, Ohio [P&T vs. oil injection] suggests passive remediation technologies performed better in terms of sustainability performance than active technologies. Passive remediation techniques can aid in the conservation of local ecosystems, reduce community impacts and improve perception of the cleanup, lower the lifecycle cost of the project, and contribute positively to sustainability by using less energy and fewer raw materials. http://www.wmsym.org/archives/2017/pdfs/FinalPaper_17492_0427040838.pdf



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