Message #113: July 2006

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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 ground water.

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.

Internet Seminars

Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) Training - July 11. This is your chance to review the basics - what the federal LDR regulations are, how to apply them as regulators, and even how they apply in real life. This presentation will focus on the federal regulations with the idea that the states often have more restrictive regulations or different interpretations. A state speaker will assist the primary speaker from EPA. Please note that this seminar consists of two, one-hour sessions with a 15-minute break. For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .

Uses of Rapid Assessment Tool (RAT) - July 18. RAT is mapping software that provides a real-time continuous data collection and assessment in the field. RAT is being developed in-house by the EPA Region 5 FIeld EnvironmentaL Decision Support (FIELDS) group as a standalone program and does not require any licensing. For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .

ITRC What is Remediation Process Optimization And How Can It Help Me Identify Opportunities for Enhanced and More Efficient Site Remediation? - July 27. This training discusses the value of optimization in efficiently and objectively setting and attaining remediation goals. Key elements of RPO that will be discussed in the training include: Appropriate use of up-to-date conceptual site models (CSM); Flexible Remedial Action (RA) operations considering technology limitations and risk assessments; use of treatment trains for each target zone, and developing performance objectives for each element; development of an exit strategy for each remedy component considering life-cycle factors; and life-cycle cost analysis as a decision-making tool with the requirement that protectiveness must be maintained or improved. For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .

ITRC An Overview of Direct-push Well Technology for Long-term Groundwater Monitoring - August 3. Direct- push wells have been used for temporary groundwater monitoring purposes for many years but are generally prohibited for use as long-term groundwater monitoring wells. Recent research indicates that direct-push wells are as well suited for long-term environmental groundwater monitoring purposes as conventionally constructed wells. This training introduces ITRC's The Use of Direct-push Well Technology for Long-term Environmental Monitoring in Groundwater Investigations (SCM-2, 2006), provides a background in the principles of direct-push wells, and presents the state of the art regarding recent research. For more information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/studio .

New Documents

EPA Technology Programs and Inter-Agency Coordination. This report was produced by the National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology (NACEPT) for EPA. The report focuses on the evaluation of EPA's internal technology programs, the organization of their presentation to the public, and recent efforts to cross organizational lines to more effectively solve problems that are impeded by the lack of commercially available technology. In particular, the report contains the EPA Technology Development Continuum, the entire text of which can be found in Appendix D. The Subcommittee reviewed a substantial subset of EPA's many and diverse technology facilitation programs, 24 of which have been identified to date (May 2006, 56 pages). View or download at http://www.epa.gov/etop/nacept/ .

Measurement and Monitoring: 19th Quarterly Literature Search. This service is provided by the U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation as a part of its Measurement and Monitoring for the 21st Century Initiative. EPA has identified 16 areas related to waste site cleanup where significant technology needs exist and, thus, require research and or technology demonstration to help advance new tools to address these needs. The 19th quarterly update of literature contains new citations related to the needs areas (April 2006, 81 pages). View or download at http://clu-in.org/programs/21m2/

Downward Solute Plume Migration: Assessment, Significance and Implications for Characterization and Monitoring of "Diving Plumes? (API Bulletin 24). This document was produced by the American Petroleum Institute (API) Soil and Groundwater Technical Task Force. The report?s purpose is to promote a common understanding of the phenomenon of diving plumes. The term "diving plume" refers to the gradual downward vertical migration of a dissolved-phase contaminant plume to greater depths in the subsurface with increasing distance along the flow path, resulting in the existence of a region of uncontaminated water overlying portions of the plume. An unrecognized diving plume could result in an inadequate evaluation of risk to receptors, erroneous interpretation of the significance of natural attenuation, under-design of a remediation system or inadequate assessment of remedial performance. (April 2006, 38 pages). View or download at http://api-ec.api.org/filelibrary/ACF2A9.pdf .

Occurrence and Implications of Selected Chlorinated Solvents in Ground Water and Source Water in the United States and in Drinking Water in 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States, 1993?2002 (SIR 2005-5268). This report was published by the U.S. Geological Survey. The purpose of this report is to present information on the occurrence and implications of four solvents in ground water, source water, and drinking water. The USGS collected or compiled data on select chlorinated solvents in samples of ground water, source water, and drinking water. The water samples were collected during 1993?2002. Data on solvents in ground water and source water were available for the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. Data on solvents in drinking water only were available for 12 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. The occurrence and distribution of four solvents were examined, including: methlyene chloride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, tetrachloro-ethene, and trichloroethene (2006, 82 pages). View or download at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5268/sir20055268.pdf .

DoD Perchlorate Handbook. This handbook was produced by the U.S. Department of Defense Environmental Data Quality Workgroup. It was developed to assist DoD facilities in complying with current DoD policy governing perchlorate sampling and testing activities for both environmental restoration/cleanup and compliance monitoring programs. Intended users of this document include DoD Remedial Project Managers (RPMs), contractor project managers, and field-sampling personnel (March 2006, 81 pages). View or download from http://www.dodperchlorateinfo.net/efforts/policy/ documents/Perchlorate%20Handbook%20Final%203-30-06.pdf

Environmental Insurance Products Available for Brownfields Redevelopment. This report was produced by the Northern Kentucky University under a grant from the U.S. EPA. This study provides a summary of environmental insurance products, available as of 2005, that are useful to those involved in the revitalization of brownfields. The data presented here are based on a detailed survey administered to representatives of nine insurance companies and in- depth interviews with the representatives. Drafts of chapters based on the information gathered were sent to the insurers for validation of accuracy (February 2006, 58 pages). View or download at http://www.brownfieldstsc.org/pdfs/enviro_insurance_2006.pdf .

EUGRIS Update. EUGRIS is the portal for soil and management in Europe. It currently holds listings for 2,445 information resources such as documents and web site links, 48 funding programmes and 178 R&D projects. EUGRIS has 1,590 registered users who are able to post information of likely interest to the remediation community. Three recent resources are: 1) "The Definition of Waste. Developing greenfield and brownfield sites" The purpose of this guide is to assist those involved in construction works, including remediation and building on greenfield and brownfield sites, in determining whether or not they are handling waste, and if so, their legal obligations. Environment Agency of England and Wales Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(2006) 2) "Valuing Our Natural Environment" The objectives of the study are to: collate existing valuation research; evaluate different valuation methods; identify how they compliment and conflict with each other; to examine how they can be and are used in decision making; and to review different measures of prosperity. 3) "EU Funding in Brief 2007-2013", latest on Framework 7 program (which is open to US collaboration - see next item). To access the EUGRIS portal, see http://www.eugris.info .

EU Funding in Brief: Special Edition 2007-2013. The European Commission has reorganized its funding strategy for 2007-2013. There will be more funds available for virtually any European organizations, but especially for the IT sector. The total budget available for the 2007-2013 period is approximately EUR 780 billion (at 2004 prices). At the same time understanding the funding mechanisms is getting increasingly complex and putting together proposals is also getting more and more difficult. There is also an increased competition from the 25 EU countries. This document identifies major EU program areas and funding sources (June 2006, 68 pages). For more information see http://www.eugris.info/newsdownloads/EUFunding_2007-13(1).pdf .

Technology News and Trends (EPA 542-N-06-003). This regular update is produced by the EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation. This issue of Technology News and Trends highlights field applications of phytoremediation to remove, transfer, stabilize, or destroy contaminants in soil, sediment, or ground water. Each application employs one or more of the primary mechanisms used by plants to remediate sites: phytoextraction, enhanced rhizosphere biodegradation, hydraulic control, phytodegradation, and phytovolatilization (May 2006, 6 pages). View or download at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm .

Conferences and Symposia

Call for Abstracts. Partners in Environmental Technology Technical Symposium, Washington DC, November 28-30. This event is sponsored by the Strategic Environmental Restoration Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). It will provide attendees: (1) concurrent technical sessions covering the latest in environmental research results and technical innovations; (2) poster sessions featuring more than 300 technical posters; (3) exhibit booths offering information about funding opportunities in related research programs; (4) two sessions providing a summary of SERDP and ESTCP program development and opportunities to conduct research and demonstrations; and (5) networking opportunities with more than 800 environmental professionals. The deadline for submitting abstracts for consideration is July 31, 2006. For more information, see http://www.estcp.org .

2006 Midwestern States Risk Assessment Symposium, Indianapolis, August 21-24. The primary topic is chlorinated solvents. The topic is divided into sessions on Trichloroethylene and Dry Cleaners. Each session will feature nationally prominent speakers. For the agenda, logistics and to register, see http://web.e-enterprise.purdue.edu/wps/portal/Environment/msras .

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. Currently there are 86 conferences and courses featured. We invite sponsors to input information on their events at http://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.