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Welcome to TechDirect! Since the October 1 message, TechDirect has 36,849 subscribers. If you feel the service is valuable, please share TechDirect with your colleagues. Anyone interested in subscribing may do so on CLU-IN at https://clu-in.org/techdirect. All previous issues of TechDirect are archived there. The TechDirect messages of the past can be searched by keyword or can be viewed as individual issues. Please feel free to reply to this email or share your comments online with feedback on your utilization of the TechDirect service or recommendations for future editions. TechDirect's purpose is to identify new technical, policy and guidance resources related to the assessment and remediation of contaminated soil, sediments and groundwater. 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. ITRC: PFAS Introductory Training - Thursday, November 6, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). This training will include emerging science on PFAS, including topics such as Properties of PFAS, Fate and Transport, Sampling and Analysis, and Treatment Technologies. The technical presentations will be focused on those who are relatively new to PFAS. The training will last approximately 90 minutes and include time for questions. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live. From Cells to Solutions: Emerging Tools for Studying Health and Disease (Three Part Series) - Session 3 - Monday, November 10, 2025, 2:00PM-4:00PM EDT (18:00-20:00 GMT). The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP) is hosting a Risk e-Learning webinar series focused on the use of innovative, human-relevant technologies to better characterize the biological effects of chemicals. New technologies, including advanced cell-based assays, organoids, and computational modeling approaches, are expanding the toolbox researchers use to answer previously difficult or unanswerable questions. Presenters will discuss how these emerging methodologies are being applied to uncover mechanistic insights, improve predictive accuracy for human health outcomes, and refine risk assessment frameworks. For more information and to register, see https://www.clu-in.org/live. ITRC: Microplastics Training - Thursday, November 13, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). In response to one of the biggest emerging environmental concerns, ITRC formed the Microplastics Team in 2021 to develop the Microplastics Guidance Document. Plastics have become pervasive in modern life and are now used in a wide range of commercial and industrial applications. Microplastics may result from the degradation and fragmentation of larger plastics, or they may be intentionally produced for specific applications and products. The online ITRC Guidance Document is geared toward an audience with reasonable level of scientific understanding, but not microplastic-specific knowledge. The guidance provides a user with information on microplastics and the state of the applied science without having to go to the scientific literature. The target audience for the guidance and this training course includes state regulators and environmental consultants, as well as community and tribal stakeholders. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live. FRTR Presents…Advancing Remediation: Lessons Learned and Innovative Approaches at Federal Facilities - Monday, November 17, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). The Fall 2025 FRTR Meeting will offer a unique opportunity for federal cleanup program managers and other remediation community representatives to identify and discuss priority cleanup issues, share lessons learned, and form collaborative working groups to pursue subjects of mutual interest. For more information and to register, see https://www.clu-in.org/live. ITRC Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Training - Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). In 2023, ITRC published the Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Guidance to supplement the 2014 Contaminated Sediments Remediation Guidance with the goal of improving consistency in sediment cap performance outcomes. Sediment capping is a commonly selected remediation approach and numerous designs have been completed. Previous cap designs have been evaluated in multiple ways, and these varying approaches have led to some differences in selection of chemical design criteria, construction tolerance specifications, and monitoring/maintenance objectives for sites with similar characteristics and contaminants, leading to different expectations for long-term performance and reliability. The Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Training will cover several key elements of the recommended framework. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live. ITRC Biological Contaminants of Emerging Concern (BioCEC) Overview Training - Thursday, November 20, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). The ITRC Biological Contaminant of Emerging Concern Guidance (published October 2025) is a tool to educate state regulators on processes and resources available to address emerging biological health risks in the environment. This training will provide an overview of the components of the guidance - process guide, conceptual exposure models, key variables for assessment, analytical methods for characterization, and a monitoring program inventory. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live. ITRC: Pump & Treat Optimization Training - Thursday, December 4, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). This training aims to summarize existing information and best practices while also developing a systemic and adaptive optimization framework specifically for P&T well-network design and management. The primary audience for this training is environmental project decision-makers, which may include federal, state, tribal, and various local agency employees; contractors to these agencies; and potentially liable parties and their engineers and consultants as well as involved stakeholders. Generally, those involved in designing, building and operating, and optimizing pump & treat systems would benefit. The goal of the training is to provide a roadmap for optimizing a P&T system and refining the remedial strategy or shifting toward another remedial approach. Pump & Treat optimization should be systematic and data-based, and the training and document aim to provide tools and direction to assist in this rigorous process. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live. RemPlex Seminar: Moab UMTRA Project - Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 1:30PM-3:00PM EST (18:30-20:00 GMT). The Department of Energy’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project is focused on the relocation of mill tailings and the remediation of contaminated groundwater at the site of a former uranium-ore processing facility. This seminar will provide an update on progress being made through collaborations with scientific partners and regulatory agencies as the Moab UMTRA project moves towards site closure. This will include presentations of new and expanded groundwater investigations that have been completed to better understand contaminant behavior and refine remediation strategies. For more information and to register, see https://www.pnnl.gov/events/remplex-seminar-moab-umtra-project Residential Lead Directive for CERCLA Sites and RCRA Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program Facilities. This Directive provides updated guidance and establishes an approach to streamline response actions to address lead contaminated soil on residential properties at CERCLA sites and RCRA Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program facilities. The press release, which includes a link to the guidance in the Superfund web area, is available at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-updates-lead-guidance-accelerate-cleanup-superfund-hazardous-waste-sites-across Rapid evidence assessment of PFAS incineration and alternative remediation methods (September 2025). This review published by the UK's Environment Agency assessed the effectiveness, feasibility, and environmental suitability of current and emerging technologies for treating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with a focus on high-temperature incineration. It examined the operating conditions needed for effective PFAS destruction, the risks of producing products of incomplete combustion, and the potential of alternative treatment methods. View or download at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rapid-evidence-assessment-of-pfas-incineration-and-alternative-remediation-methods Global Summit on Environmental Remediation, November 4-6, 2025, Richland, WA. This international forum focuses on challenges, barriers, and innovative solutions for successful remediation and long-term stewardship of contaminated sites. The Global Summit is set for November 4-6, 2025, at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state. This event is organized in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency's Network of Environmental Remediation and NORM Management (ENVIRONET). For more information, please visit https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/remplex/2025-summit. POSTPONED - Design and Construction Issues at Hazardous Waste Sites (DCHWS West), NEW DATE: January 26-28, 2026, Denver, CO. The DCHW West, co-sponsored by the US EPA and Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and originally scheduled for November 3-5, 2025, has been postponed to January 26-28, 2026. The applications of engineering and science associated with cleaning up hazardous waste sites continue to evolve rapidly. The event's primary goal is to facilitate an interactive engagement between professionals from government and the private sector related to relevant and topical issues. For more information, please visit https://sites.google.com/samephiladelphiapost.org/dchws/west-symposium/fall-2025-dchws. NOTE: For TechDirect, we prefer to concentrate mainly on new documents and the Internet live events. However, we do support an area on CLU-IN where announcement of conferences and courses can be regularly posted. We invite sponsors to input information on their events at https://clu-in.org/courses . Likewise, readers may visit this area for news of upcoming events that might be of interest. It allows users to search events by location, topic, time period, etc.
If you have any questions regarding TechDirect, contact Jean Balent at (202) 566-0832 or balent.jean@epa.gov.
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