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TechDirect
March 1, 2026
Welcome to TechDirect! Since the February 1 message, TechDirect gained 46 new subscribers for a total of 37,032. 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.

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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.
Announcements
2027 National Brownfields Training Conference Call for Ideas. The 2027 National Brownfields Training Conference Call for Ideas opens Monday, March 2, 2026. Prepare to submit your ideas for dynamic educational sessions that explore the latest and greatest tools, methods, trends and case studies in brownfields redevelopment and revitalization. For more information and submit ideas, please visit https://gobrownfields.org/.
Upcoming Live Internet Seminars
ITRC PFAS Introductory Training - Thursday, March 5, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 UTC) . Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large and complex class of anthropogenic compounds whose prevalence in the environment are an emerging, worldwide priority in environmental and human health. The ITRC PFAS Team, formed in 2017, has prepared readily accessible materials to present PFAS information to stakeholders, regulators, and policy makers. The PFAS team represents a diverse cross-section of expertise and experience working on PFAS. 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.

ITRC: Reuse of Solid Mining Waste Training - Thursday, March 12, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT (17:00-19:00 UTC).  Solid mining waste represents a significant quantity of waste material in the United States and around the world. Solid mining waste has a range of physical and chemical properties that make it both potentially valuable and potentially hazardous to human health and the environment. From a commercial perspective, mining removes most of the primary minerals of interest; however, waste materials can still contain valuable minerals and other materials that can be recovered. The ITRC Reuse of Solid Mining Waste training and guidance document is geared towards state regulators and environmental consultants, mining and manufacturing stakeholders, community and tribal stakeholders, and other who have an interest in the potential reuse of solid mining waste. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live.

Vapor Intrusion Mitigation (VIM-1) - Part Two of a Two Part Series Training - Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT (17:00-19:00 UTC).  When certain contaminants or hazardous substances are released into the soil or groundwater, they may volatilize into soil gas. Vapor intrusion (VI) occurs when these vapors migrate up into overlying buildings and contaminate indoor air. ITRC has previously released guidance documents focused on VI, including the "Vapor Intrusion Pathway: A Practical Guidance" (VI-1, 2007) and "Petroleum Vapor Intrusion: Fundamentals of Screening, Investigation, and Management" (PVI, 2014). However, ITRC has received multiple requests for additional details and training on mitigation strategies for addressing this exposure pathway. The ITRC Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Team (VIMT) created ten fact sheets, 16 technology information sheets, and 4 checklists with the goal of assisting regulators during review of vapor intrusion mitigation systems, and helping contractors understand the essential elements of planning, design, implementation, and operation, maintenance and monitoring (OM&M) of mitigation systems. The Vapor Intrusion Mitigation training is a series of eight (8) modules, presented over two sessions. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live.

Federal Facilities Online Academy: Record of Decision (RODs) and More at Federal Facilities -Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT (17:00-19:00 UTC).  RODs [Records of Decision] and More at Federal Facilities is a two-hour webinar course that will provide an overview of how early and interim actions, adaptive management, RODs, Explanations of Significant Differences (ESDs), and ROD Amendments are used at Federal Facilities. By taking this course, participants will achieve the following objectives: Understand how removal actions, sampling and analysis plans, and decision documents are used at Federal Facilities; Learn about the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DoE) Joint Policy Memo; Identify how Interim Actions can be used as part of an overall cleanup strategy; and, Learn the process for changing remedies after a ROD is issued. The instructional methodology for this course includes lecture, group discussions, case studies, and quizzes. The target audience for this course is federal, state, and tribal representatives who work on Federal Facility cleanups. Ideally, students should have a basic understanding of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) process. This course is part of the Federal Facilities Academy training program. Please consider registering for other Federal Facility Academy courses and obtain a certificate upon completion of the entire Federal Facility Academy series (12 courses total). For more information and to register, see https://www.clu-in.org/live.

ITRC: PFAS - Practical Approaches for PFAS Fate & Transport Evaluation Training - Thursday, March 26, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT (17:00-19:00 UTC).  This training will provide information on fate and transport of PFAS in the environment using a hypothetical AFFF release. It builds on the earlier topics covered in the PFAS 101 training. Resources and further details for the topics included in this training are available in the ITRC PFAS-1 guidance document. Representative PFAS fate and transport pathways/processes will be illustrated, highlighting those that are unique to PFAS and different from other common contaminants. Available methods/approaches of field sampling, laboratory analysis, and data evaluation to characterize these fate and transport pathways/processes will be discussed. Data gaps due to limited available sampling/analysis and data evaluation methods will also be discussed. The scenario of a hypothetical AFFF release site was chosen based on commonality with typical known environmental releases to present an illustrative framework for regulators and other environmental practitioners on the range of PFAS topics that may be applicable from discovery to closure. This training will be crafted for an audience with some basic understanding of PFAS and that has likely already attended the PFAS 101 training and the ITRC PFAS Beyond the Basics: Fate and Transport, Site Characterization, and Source ID training. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://www.clu-in.org/live.
New Documents and Web Resources
Research Brief 370: Improving Chemical Cleanup of Contaminated Groundwater. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center uncovered how underground conditions influence the success of chemical oxidation-based groundwater cleanup. By considering how contaminants interact with underground particles, the study provides guidance that could help tailor cleanup approaches to site-specific conditions, improving remediation outcomes. For more information, please visit https://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/researchbriefs/view.cfm?Brief_ID=370.
Conferences and Symposia
Design and Construction Issues at Hazardous Waste Sites (DCHWS East), March 4-6, 2026, Philadelphia, PA. The US EPA and Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) co-sponsor the DCHWS East each Spring. 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/east-symposium/spring-2026-dchws?authuser=0

Superfund Radiation Dose Assessment Training, March 8, 2026, Phoenix, AZ. As part of the Waste Management Symposium, the US EPA will hold a Superfund Radiation Dose Assessment class Sunday March 8, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. The course is an interactive, full-day advanced program that addresses specific technical and regulatory challenges faced by site managers (e.g., Regional Project Managers, On-scene Coordinators) and technical staff (e.g., risk assessors, health physicists) involved in managing sites within the US Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund remedial program. While the focus of Superfund assessments is usually risk, this special edition of this course will focus on the dose assessment calculators which are used by EPA for determining compliance with dose based Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs). The instructors are Stuart Walker of US EPA, and Fred Dolislager of US DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For more information, please visit https://www.wmsym.org/conference-information/wm2026-conference/.

Call for Abstracts! RemTech Europe 2026, September 14-18, 2026, Ferrara, Italy. RemTech Europe 2026 International Conference and Exhibition on land and water remediation markets and technologies is scheduled for September 14-18, 2026 with in person and virtual participation options. The conference is free to attend. The call for abstracts is now open with the Academic submissions due March 30, 2026 for Academics and Private Company submissions June 30, 2026. here. To learn more about the event and instructions on submitting abstracts, please visit https://remtechexpo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CallForAbstracts_REMTECH-EUROPE_2026_rev1.pdf

2026 ITRC Annual Meeting - April 20-22, 2026, Salt Lake City, UT. The meeting will feature an opening reception, dedicated working sessions for our Project Teams, and program-specific meetings. To learn more and register, please visit https://itrcweb.org/2026-annual-meeting/.

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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