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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.
Open Solicitations
AFCEE Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Open for FY10. The Air
Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) BAA
seeks out technologies and methodologies to reduce environmental
impacts from current and past Air Force operations and apply to
Air Force installations worldwide. The key focus of this effort
is to further develop and validate innovative, energy efficient,
and cost-effective technologies for the site characterization,
remediation, and accelerated closure of environmental sites in
Restoration, Compliance, Pollution Prevention, Military
Munitions Response Program (MMRP) areas for complying with all
applicable regulatory requirements, policies and guidance. The
goal is to identify more technically advanced, efficient,
effective, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective
solutions than are currently available. Such technologies and
methodologies should aid the U.S. Air Force in reaching the
remedy-in-place (RIP) goal or optimizing current remediation,
monitoring, or other systems already in place, or reducing the
quantity of toxic and hazardous chemicals and materials. Phase I
submittals must be submitted online no later than 4:00 PM CST,
December 8, 2009. View the BAA synopsis at
https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/HQAF ...
.html .
SERDP Core and SEED Solicitations. The DoD Strategic
Environmental Research and Demonstration Program (SERDP)
released its annual Core and SEED solicitations for FY 2011 on
October 29, 2009. Funds are available through a competitive
process to both federal and private organizations to perform
environmental research and development. Core Solicitation
projects vary in cost and duration, consistent with the scope of
the work proposed. Federal organizations respond to the Federal
Call for Proposals and private sector organizations to the Broad
Agency Announcement (BAA). For the Core solicitation,
pre-proposals from the non-federal sector are due January 7,
2010 and federal proposals are due March 11, 2010. The SEED
Solicitation is designed to provide a limited amount of funding,
not to exceed $150,000 in total cost and approximately one year
in duration, for researchers to test proof of concept for work
that will investigate new environmental approaches that entail
high technical risk and/or have minimal supporting data. Federal
organizations respond to the Federal Call for Proposals and
private sector organizations to the BAA. All SEED proposals are
due March 11, 2010. View the call for proposals and Statements
of Need at http://www.serdp.org/funding/ .
Upcoming Live Internet Seminars
The Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC) - December 2,
2009, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). The 2-hour REOC
Webinar will introduce participants to the function and
operation of the Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC).
The REOC webinar is aimed as Response Support Corps (RSC)
members in the regional offices and at EPA Headquarters. The
webinar will begin with background information on EPA's National
Approach to Response, National Incident Management System,
Response Support Corps, and REOC. The webinar will then focus on
how REOCs are set up and how they function, including the (1)
characteristic features of the REOC, (2) management structure
and positions to be filled in the REOC, (3) types of information
and products developed in the REOC, and (4) types of REOC
activations that RSCs can expect. The REOC webinar is a
prerequisite for the 4-hour Knowing and Working Within the REOC
course to be given at the OSC Readiness Training Program in
February 2010. For more information and to register, see
http://clu-in.org/live .
Superfund Research Program Strategic Planning - Your Input for
Future Directions - December 7, 2009, 2:00PM-4:00PM EDT
(19:00-21:00 GMT). The Superfund Research Program (SRP) funds
basic and applied research addressing health effects, risk
assessment, detection and remediation of hazardous substances.
After over 20 years of progress, the SRP is undergoing a
strategic planning process to develop a framework for
prioritization of activities over the next 5-10 years and to
enhance the impact of the Program. The purpose of this
information session is to receive input from SRP's stakeholders
about the future direction of the Program. The session will
feature a moderated discussion period framed by a series of
questions addressing the scope of SRP science, training,
translation, and outreach. We encourage participation by
officials from sister Superfund agencies US EPA and ATSDR, as
well as representatives of local, state, tribal governments,
non-profit organizations, universities, and practicing
environmental professionals. For more information and to
register, see http://clu-in.org/live .
ITRC In Situ Bioremediation of Chlorinated Ethene - DNAPL Source
Zones - December 8, 2009, 2:00PM-4:15PM EST (19:00-21:15 GMT).
Treatment of dissolved-phase chlorinated ethenes in groundwater
using in situ bioremediation (ISB) is an established technology;
however, its use for DNAPL source zones is an emerging
application. This training course supports the ITRC Technical
and Regulatory Guidance document In Situ Bioremediation of
Chlorinated Ethene: DNAPL Source Zones (BioDNAPL-3, 2008). This
document provides the regulatory community, stakeholders, and
practitioners with the general steps practitioners and
regulators can use to objectively assess, design, monitor, and
optimize ISB treatment of DNAPL source zones. For more
information and to register, see http://www.itrcweb.org or
http://clu-in.org/live .
Perchlorate: Concern About Environmental Exposures, Thyroid
Homeostasis, and Developmental Impacts - December 16, 2009,
2:00PM-3:30PM EST (19:00-20:30 GMT). Perchlorate contaminates
important sources of drinking water in California and
nationally. It inhibits the uptake of iodide into the thyroid
gland, an essential part of the process of making thyroid
hormone. Small changes is maternal thyroid hormone are
associated with significant decreases in IQ. As well, small
decreases in adult T4 levels are also associated with increased
cardiovascular risk. Perchlorate has been shown to block iodine
uptake into the thyroid gland and cause a reduction in thyroid
hormone production. In the past, evidence showed that this
effect occurred only at very high doses of perchlorate. Recently
however, several epidemiologic studies have provided evidence
that lower levels of perchlorate commonly found in food and
water sources in the U.S. might also impact thyroid hormone
production. These studies suggest that these impacts primarily
occur in certain susceptible populations. Earlier studies may
have missed these effects because these groups were not
specifically evaluated.
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