Message #48: February 2001

Since January 1, TechDirect gained 309 new subscribers for a total of 9960. Welcome to everyone just joining TechDirect. We hope this continues to be a useful resource. You may subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription address at http://clu-in.org/techdrct any time night or day. All past TechDirect messages are available in the archive at that URL.

Mention of non-EPA documents or presentations does not constitute a U.S. EPA endorsement of their contents, only an acknowledgment that they exist and may be relevant to the TechDirect audience.

Upcoming Internet Seminars
The EPA Technology Innovation Office , ITRC and other partners are hosting a number of two-hour Live technical seminars over the Internet in February and March. These are free, but you must register to participate. For descriptions and registration information for these I-seminars, see http://clu-in.org/studio. Also note that you may access some of our past seminars (slides and audio) in the archive.

Dynamic Data Collection and Field Analytical Technologies: February 22, March 1, March 15.
Field Analytical Technologies for VOCs in Groundwater: February 27 and March 20
ITRC Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents: March 6 and March 8

New Documents

Applicability of RCRA Section 3020 to In-Situ Treatment of Ground Water. This memorandum clarifies that reinjection of treated ground water to promote in-situ treatment is allowed under section 3020(b) as long as certain conditions are met. Specifically, the ground water must be treated prior to reinjection; the treatment must be intended to substantially reduce hazardous constituents in the ground water - either before or after reinjection; the cleanup must be protective of human health and the environment; and the injection must be part of a response action under CERCLA section 104 or 106 or a RCRA corrective action intended to clean up the contamination (December 2000, 6 pages). View at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm .

RCRA Clean-up Reforms II: Fostering Creative Solutions (EPA 530-F- 01-001). This new RCRA reform document was published by the U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste. It contains a set of initiatives and ideas intended to foster creative solutions in the RCRA clean-up program (January 2001, 4 pages). View or download at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/ca/reforms/reforms2.pdf .

Treatment Experiences at RCRA Corrective Actions (EPA 542-F-00- 020). This fact sheet summarizes information about the use of treatment technologies at 30 RCRA corrective action sites. EPA identified these sites based on readily available sources of information. These sources were reviewed to identify RCRA sites that had ongoing or completed cleanups for contaminated soil or groundwater, and that identified key information about the cleanups, such as type of technology used and point of contact. These sites illustrate the types of cleanups conducted at RCRA corrective actions; they are not intended to be representative of the whole universe of RCRA cleanups (December 2000, 8 pages). View or download from http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm . Hard copies will be available in 3-4 weeks, contact (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190 or fax to (513) 489-8695.

Technologies for Clean-Up of Contaminated Ground Water in the United States: Current Practice and Information Resources. This is an overview paper that was delivered at the International Symposium and Exhibition on Waste Management in Asian Cities (Hong Kong, October 20, 2000). It describes data on the kinds of contamination, media, and technologies deployed to deal with problems at these sites. In addition, it highlights technology partnerships that have evolved to demonstrate and verify site measurement and clean up technologies and to assure a more robust set of clean-up options. Finally, the advent of the Internet has increased access to a considerable body of publicly available information on the cost and performance of these technologies (October 2000, 6 pages). View or download at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm .

Ground Water Currents (EPA 542-N-00-008). Ground Water Currents is a quarterly newsletter published by the Technology Innovation Office. This issue features projects that address the treatment of ground water in fractured bedrock. Two articles involve field-scale demonstrations of enhanced bioremediation of ground water contaminated with TCE. The third involves the use of the digital Borehole Image Processing System (BIPS) to enhance characterization of the bedrock fractures at Watervliet Arsenal (December 2000, 4 pages). View or download at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm . For a hard copy, contact (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190 or fax to (513) 489-8695.

CLARINET and NICOLE Special Edition of Land Contamination and Reclamation: The Sustainable Management and Remediation of Contaminated Land. CLARINET and NICOLE have contributed to this special issue of Land Contamination and Reclamation as part of their support for the effective implementation of the EC Framework 5 RTD Programme, and to provide an overview of their work to a wide audience of practitioners in the field. This special issue highlights the recent and current activities of CLARINET and NICOLE and the progress that is being made towards the establishment of better risk-based land management protocols and practices in the EU. It provides an overview of current research programmes including the current call for EU research under Framework 5, and identifies commonly perceived research needs among stakeholders in European countries. View at http://www.nicole.org/

Dynamic Field Activities Webpage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program has launched a new web page designed to promote the use of real-time data for real-time decision making throughout the response process. Titled Dynamic Field Activities, the site provides resources to help streamline activities during site assessment, characterization, remediation, and monitoring. The web site supports Superfund by providing information on an upcoming guidance document as well as providing numerous links to other helpful internet resources. See http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/dfa/index.htm .

Conferences and Symposia

Call for Abstracts! Environmental Development Workshop, Portland, Oregon, April 16 - 20. This event is sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The theme of the conference is "Environmental Stewardship: We Proceed On." The stated purpose is to exchange current technical information for sustainable environmental restoration and stewardship. Session topics include: Measuring & Monitoring, Quality Management, Planning, Policy, Compliance , and Restoration. The deadline for submitting abstracts has been extended to February 15. For more information, see http://hq.environmental.usace.army.mil/edw2001.

Call For Papers! EPA Forum on Managing Contaminated Sediments at Hazardous Waste Sites, Alexandria, VA May 30-June 1. This conference, sponsored by the U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, will allow stakeholders to express their opinions on EPA program policies and guidance that address sediment remediation; identify the key site information and data that should be collected and evaluated in order to make informed site-specific cleanup decisions; identify issues that need to be resolved, additional data that needs to be gathered and evaluated, and research that needs to be performed; and share information and lessons learned as a result of managing contaminated sediments. Prospective panelists should submit a one page (double-spaced) abstract on one of the conference topics described above by February 28, 2001. Abstracts must include the author's name, affiliation, address, phone number, fax number & e-mail address. For more information, contact Joan Fisk at (703) 603-8791 or fisk.joan@epa.gov .

Reminder! Fractured Rock 2001, Ontario, March 26-28. This conference is sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the U.S. Department of Energy, The Smithville Phase IV Bedrock Remediation Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The conference will focus on state-of-the-art methods of site characterization, contaminant mobility and behavior, as well as containment and remediation in groundwater and the vadose zone. Presentations will focus on all types of rock and organic contaminants (aqueous phase, LNAPLs, and DNAPLs), inorganic contaminants, isotopes, radionuclides, and all methods of investigation (laboratory, numerical modeling, field work, case histories, and policy). For agenda and registration information, see http://www.fracturedrock2001.org/ .

Reminder!! Field Screening Europe 2001, Karlsruhe, Germany, May 14-16. The objective of this conference and exhibition is the continuation of discussions about on-site analysis together with methods, techniques and technologies in Field Screening. Among these questions are the development of all inclusive reconnaissance strategies, problems of measurement in heterogeneous media using, among others, new geotechnical and geophysical instruments, the application of chemical and physical in-situ measurement techniques will also be discussed. Flier available on conference website at http://wwwrz.rz.uni-karlsruhe.de/~rd03/FZU/conferences/fse2001/ .