Message #56: October 2001

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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.

Special Announcement

EPA Fall 2002 Fellowships. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering three fall 2002 fellowship programs to encourage students to pursue careers in environmentally related fields. These programs include STAR Graduate Fellowships, Minority Academic Institutions Graduate Fellowships, and Minority Academic Institutions Undergraduate Fellowships. The deadline for pre-applications for all three fellowships is November 19, 2001. More information is available at http://es.epa.gov/ncerqa/rfa/#2002

Live Internet Seminars

ITRC Passive Diffusion Samplers - October 9 and 11. This seminar will present the technical and regulatory considerations associated with deployment of diffusion samplers, and summarize major points of the recently issued USGS document, Users Guide For Polyethylene-Based Passive Diffusion Bag Samplers To Obtain Volatile Organic Compound Concentrations In Wells. For more information and to register, see or http://clu-in.org/studio or http://www.itrcweb.org .

ITRC Advanced Techniques on Installation of Iron Based Permeable Reactive Barriers and Non-Iron Based Barrier Treatment Material - October 23 and 25. This ITRC seminar uses case studies to describe long-term performance of iron-based systems and details how to design them according to the heterogeneities of the subsurface. New construction techniques for excavation and wall emplacement have improved dramatically and the attention to barrier construction is as critical as is performance monitoring. It also describes non-iron barrier systems, the material most commonly used and the mechanisms encouraging a reduction in contaminant concentrations within the systems. For more information and to register, see or http://clu-in.org/studio or http://www.itrcweb.org .

Documents and Web Resources

Road Map to Understanding Innovative Technology Options for Brownfields Investigation and Cleanup, Third Edition (EPA 542-B- 01-001). This report, published by the U.S. EPA Technology Innovation Office, includes 91 new and updated resources, an easy to navigate list of the 150 resources referenced in the document, and one-page spotlight discussions on topics impacting technology decisions at brownfields sites. The topics include the keys to technology acceptance, use of the "triad" approach for streamlining site investigations and cleanup decisions, and data quality and representativeness (September 2001, 136 pages). View or download at http://www.brownfieldstsc.org . Hard copies should be available in 1-2 weeks, contact (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489- 8190 or fax to (513) 489-8695.

Brownfields Technology Primer: Selecting and Using Phytoremediation for Site Cleanup (EPA 542-R-01-006). This primer explains the phytoremediation process, discusses the potential advantages and considerations in selecting phytoremediation to clean up brownfields sites, and provides information on additional resources about phytoremediation (July 2001, 45 pages). View or download at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm . For hard copies, contact (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190 or fax to (513) 489-8695.

Tech Trends (EPA 542-N-01-003) . This quarterly newsletter is published by the U.S. EPA Technology Innovation Office. This issue highlights joint international efforts to demonstrate and evaluate the performance of innovative technologies for remediating sites with contaminated soil (September 2001, 6 pages). View or download at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm . For hard copies, contact (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190 or fax to (513) 489-8695.

Four New ETV Reports. The U.S. EPA Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program Site Characterization and Monitoring Technologies Center published four new verification reports. View or download all four reports at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm .

• PCB Detection Technology, Dexsil Corporation L2000DX (EPA 600-R-01-049)
• PCB Detection Technology, Hybrizyme DELFIATM Assay (EPA 600-R-01-052)
• TNT Detection Technology, Texas Instruments SpreetaTM Assay (EPA 600-R-01-064)
• Explosives Detection Technology, SRI Instruments Model 8610C, Gas Chromatograph/Thermionic Ionization Detection (EPA 600-R-01-065)

Oil Spill Program Update (540-N-01-004). This quarterly newsletter is produced by the U.S. EPA Oil Spill Program using information provided by EPA regional staff, and in accordance with regional information needs. The goal of the Update is to provide straight-forward information to keep EPA regional staff, other federal agencies and departments, industries and businesses, and the regulated community current with the latest developments (July 2001, 7 pages). View or download at http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/docs/vol4no3.pdf .

New CLU-IN Section. The EPA Technology Innovation Office created a new section within the CLU-IN website called "Topical Papers on Environmental Data Quality." This section contains published papers that have been (or are expected to be) literature references in papers or documents prepared by TIO. These supporting materials have been published in proceedings of government-sponsored conferences so they can be very hard for readers to obtain if they wanted to read the entire reference. Readers concerned with the issues surrounding data quality may find these papers valuable for their insights. The authors are often seasoned professionals who are reporting on lessons learned from actual projects, providing recommendations based on their expertise, or raising issues for consideration by the industry. Currently, 17 papers are provided in this section. See http://clu-in.org/char1.cfm .

EPA Remediation Grant Project Summaries. The U.S. EPA National Center for Environmental Research has assembled a searchable database of remediation-related research projects funded through their grants program. All grants have been placed under 20 topic areas that describe the overall, general objectives of the projects. Specific information is given for each grant that includes: title, web address, EPA grant number, principal investigator(s), institution (university), NCER project officer, dates during which the grant is funded, and a brief description of the research. Take the link to the full report on the NCER web site to view complete details of approach, progress summary/ accomplishments, conclusions and a complete list of publications. See http://es.epa.gov/ncer/publications/topical/remediation.html .

Conferences and Symposia

ISO/TC 190 Soil Quality, October 8-12, Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a working meeting of the International Standardization Organization/ Technical Committee on Soil Quality. This ISO/TC is a coalition of 48 countries involved in the development of standards in the field of soil quality, including classification, definition of terms, sampling of soils, measurement, detection of soil contamination, and reporting of soil characteristics. For more information on this conference, contact the TC's secretary: Gerrald Goselink, Netherlands Standardization Institute NEN, PO Box 5059, NL-2600 GB, Delft, The Netherlands. Telephone: +31-15 2690 254, or Gerrald.Goselink@nen.nl .

Reminder - ITRC Phytotechnologies, October 24-25, Amherst, MA. This two-day course discusses the latest applications of phytotechnologies in remediation and waste management. The curriculum focuses on systems design using hands-on team problem solving and evening homework. Case studies are incorporated into each major subject area. For more information, see http://www.itrcweb.org

Reminder - ITRC Accelerated Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents, October 23-24, Pasadena, CA and December 4-5, New Orleans, LA. This two-day course examines the roles of site characterization, modeling, design, monitoring, and regulatory interaction in applying in-situ engineered bioremediation. Lectures, case studies, hands-on exercises and discussion sessions are used to give participants knowledge and information that can be put together immediately. For more information, see http://www.itrcweb.org

Reminder - 2001 ITRC Fall Conference, November 5 - 8, Long Beach, CA. The ITRC Fall conference will feature panel sessions on issues in remediation technology with national authorities, open sessions of eight ITRC work teams (Chemical Oxidation, MTBE, UXO, bioremediation, etc.), training for participants on six technology/technical areas, networking with public and private sector professionals and exhibits on environmental technology. For up to date agenda information and to register, see http://www.itrcweb.org .