| Cleanup of hazardous waste sites can involve significant consumption of gasoline, diesel, or other fuels by mobile and stationary sources. Minimizing emission of air pollutants such as greenhouse gases (GHGs) and particulate matter (PM) resulting from cleanup activities, including those needing fossil or alternative fuel, is a core element of green remediation strategies. Efforts to reduce these emissions during site investigation, remedial or corrective actions, and long-term operation and maintenance (O&M) must meet regulatory requirements under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and state air quality standards as well as federal and state cleanup programs. Deployment of green remediation BMPs can help reduce negative impacts of cleanup activities on public health and the environment. |
EPA 542-F-23-001
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| Contaminated site cleanups involving complex activities may benefit from a detailed environmental footprint analysis to inform decision-making about application of suitable best management practices for greener cleanups. The U.S. EPA's two-page fact sheet explains how EPA's methodology provides a roadmap for conducting such an analysis and summarizes the Agency's preferred metrics and processes when an analysis is conducted. |
EPA 542-F-22-003
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| The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Principles for Greener Cleanups outline the Agency's policy for evaluating and minimizing the environmental footprint of activities involved in cleaning up contaminated sites. Use of the best management practices (BMPs) recommended in EPA's series of green remediation fact sheets can help project managers and other stakeholders apply the principles on a routine basis, while maintaining the cleanup objectives, ensuring protectiveness of a remedy, and improving its environmental outcome. Soil vapor extraction (SVE) is used at certain sites to address volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are sorbed to soil within the unsaturated zone. An SVE system extracts air from, or sometimes injects air into, the vadose zone to strip the VOCs from soil and transfer the vapors to an aboveground treatment system for destruction or recovery. In contrast, air sparging (AS) involves injecting air into contaminated groundwater to drive volatile and semi-volatile contaminants into the overlying vadose zone by way of volatilization. The vapors are then removed from the vadose zone, typically by a co-located SVE system. Cleanup at some sites also may require mitigation of vapor intrusion (VI) into nearby buildings until remediation of soil or groundwater is complete. |
EPA 542-F-22-002
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| The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Principles for Greener Cleanups outline the Agency's policy for evaluating and minimizing the environmental footprint of activities involved in cleaning up contaminated sites. management practices (BMPs) identified in EPA's series of green remediation fact sheets can help project managers and other stakeholders apply the principles on a routine basis, while maintaining the cleanup objectives, ensuring protectiveness of a remedy, and improving its environmental outcome. Renewable energy provides a significant opportunity to minimize energy- and air-related contributions to the environmental footprint of cleaning up hazardous waste sites. Use of renewable energy during site cleanup also can decrease burdens on local power grids and provide a backup supply of power. |
EPA 542-F-22-001
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| The goal of these fact sheets is to share technical information on best practices that build sustainability into contaminated site cleanup operations across the portfolio of remediation approaches. The updated fact sheet includes new BMPs gathered from projects across the country and describes how climate resilience is being built into our sites to ensure continued remedy protectiveness. The fact sheet also highlights synergies between green remediation and climate adaptation practices, where one action provides both greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and climate resilience. Examples are BMPs involving use of renewable energy, green infrastructure or carbon sequestering vegetation that mitigate GHG emissions and add resilience to ongoing climate change. The fact sheet also highlights how advanced practices gleaned from Superfund's optimization and technical support work, such as reclaiming and reusing treated water for beneficial purposes, help reduce the environmental footprint of remedies. |
EPA 542-F-21-029
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| The goal of the green remediation best management practice (BMP) fact sheets is to share technical information on best practices that build sustainability into contaminated site cleanup operations across the portfolio of remediation approaches. This updated fact sheet includes new BMPs gathered from projects across the country and describes how climate resilience is being built into our sites to ensure continued remedy protectiveness. The fact sheet also highlights synergies between green remediation and climate adaptation practices, where one action provides both greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and climate resilience. Examples are BMPs involving use of renewable energy, green infrastructure or carbon sequestering vegetation that mitigate GHG emissions and add resilience to ongoing climate change. The fact sheet also highlights how advanced practices gleaned from Superfund's optimization and technical support work, such as three-dimensional and high-resolution imaging techniques for site characterization, support more precise remedies with smaller environmental footprints. |
EPA 542-F-21-028
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| The Community Guide series (formerly Citizen's Guides) is a set of two-page fact sheets describing cleanup methods used at Superfund and other hazardous waste cleanup sites. Each guide answers six questions about the method: 1) What is it? 2) How does it work? 3) How long will it take? 4) Is it safe? 5) How might it affect me? 6) Why use it? |
EPA 542-F-21-015
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| The Community Guide series (formerly Citizen's Guides) is a set of two-page fact sheets describing cleanup methods used at Superfund and other hazardous waste cleanup sites. Each guide answers six questions about the method: 1) What is it? 2) How does it work? 3) How long will it take? 4) Is it safe? 5) How might it affect me? 6) Why use it? |
EPA 542-F-21-012
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| The Community Guide series (formerly Citizen's Guides) is a set of two-page fact sheets describing cleanup methods used at Superfund and other hazardous waste cleanup sites. Each guide answers six questions about the method: 1) What is it? 2) How does it work? 3) How long will it take? 4) Is it safe? 5) How might it affect me? 6) Why use it? |
EPA 542-F-21-003
Download (944KB/2pp/PDF)
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| The Community Guide series (formerly Citizen's Guides) is a set of two-page fact sheets describing cleanup methods used at Superfund and other hazardous waste cleanup sites. Each guide answers six questions about the method: 1) What is it? 2) How does it work? 3) How long will it take? 4) Is it safe? 5) How might it affect me? 6) Why use it? |
EPA 542-F-21-002
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