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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.
> Research Funding Opportunity
The Department of Defense’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is seeking environmental research and development proposals
for funding beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Projects will be selected through a competitive process. Details are available on the SERDP website. The Core
Solicitation provides funding opportunities for basic and applied research and advanced technology development. Core projects vary in cost and duration
consistent with the scope of the work proposed. The Statements of Need referenced by this solicitation request proposals related to the SERDP program areas
of Environmental Restoration, Resource Conservation and Resilience, and Weapons Systems and Platforms. All Core pre-proposals are due January 9, 2024 by
2:00 p.m. ET. For more information, please visit https://serdp-estcp.org/workingwithus/so ...
The SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) Solicitation provides funding opportunities for work that will investigate innovative environmental approaches
that entail high technical risk or require supporting data to provide proof of concept. Funding is limited to not more than $250,000 and projects are approximately
one year in duration. This year, SERDP is requesting SEED proposals for the Weapons Systems and Platforms program area. SEED proposals are due March 14, 2024
by 2:00 p.m. ET. For more information, please visit https://serdp-estcp.org/workingwithus/so ...
> Upcoming Live Internet Seminars
ITRC Optimizing Injection Strategies and In situ Remediation Performance - December 5, 2023, 1:00PM-3:15PM EST (18:00-20:15 GMT) . ITRC developed the
guidance: Optimizing Injection Strategies and In Situ Remediation Performance (OIS-ISRP-1) and this associated training course to identify challenges
that may impede or limit remedy effectiveness and discuss the potential optimization strategies, and specific actions that can be pursued, to improve the
performance of in situ remediation by: refining and evaluating remedial design site characterization data; selecting the correct amendment; choosing delivery
methods for site-specific conditions; creating design specifications; conducting performance evaluations, and optimizing under-performing in situ
remedies. The target audience for this guidance and training course is: environmental consultants, responsible parties, federal and state regulators,
as well as community and tribal stakeholders. This training will support users in efficiently and confidently applying the guidance at their remediation
sites. An optimization case study is shared to illustrate the use of the associated guidance document. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org
or https://clu-in.org/live.
ITRC Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Training - January 18, 2024, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST (18:00-20:00 GMT). In 2023, ITRC published the Sediment Cap Chemical
Isolation Guidance to supplement the 2014 Contaminated Sediments Remediation Guidance with the goal of improving consistency in sediment cap performance
outcomes. Sediment capping is a commonly selected remediation approach and numerous designs have been completed. Previous cap designs have been evaluated
in multiple ways, and these varying approaches have led to some differences in selection of chemical design criteria, construction tolerance specifications,
and monitoring/maintenance objectives for sites with similar characteristics and contaminants, leading to different expectations for long-term performance
and reliability. The Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Training will cover several key elements of the recommended framework. For more information and to register,
see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://clu-in.org/live.
ITRC: Pump & Treat Optimization - January 30, 2024, 1:00PM-3:15PM EST (18:00-20:15 GMT). This training aims to summarize existing information and best
practices while also developing a systemic and adaptive optimization framework specifically for P&T well-network design and management. P&T systems have
been one of the most commonly used methods for hydraulic containment and treatment of contaminated groundwater at sites with large groundwater plumes. This
method cleans up groundwater contaminated with dissolved chemicals by pumping groundwater from wells to an above-ground treatment system that removes the
contaminants. The primary audience for this training is environmental project decision-makers, which may include federal, state, tribal, and various local
agency employees; contractors to these agencies; and potentially liable parties and their engineers and consultants as well as involved stakeholders. Generally,
those involved in designing, building and operating, and optimizing pump & treat systems would benefit. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org
or https://www.clu-in.org/live.
Correcting Some Misconceptions about EPA's Superfund Approach for Radiation Risk Assessment - January 31, 2024, 1:30PM-3:30PM EST (18:30-20:30 GMT).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) has primary responsibility for implementing
the remedial long-term (non-emergency) portion of a key U.S. law regulating cleanup: the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability
Act, CERCLA, nicknamed 'Superfund.' The Superfund program generally addresses radioactive contamination in a consistent manner as it addresses chemical
contamination, except where there are technical differences between radionuclides and other chemicals. For example, cleanup levels for radioactive contamination
at sites are generally expressed in terms of risk levels (e.g., 10-4), rather than millirem or millisieverts, as a unit of measure. Although EPA and other US
agencies have issued millirem-based regulations under other statutory authorities, under CERCLA EPA promulgated a risk range of 10-4 to 10-6 as a standard
of protectiveness for all carcinogens including radionuclides. CERCLA guidance recommends the use of slope factors when estimating cancer risk from radioactive
contaminants, rather than converting from millirem. Current slope factors are based on risk coefficients in Federal Guidance Report 13. The Superfund remedial
program uses 10-6 as a point of departure and establishes Preliminary Remediation Goals (PRGs) at 1 x 10-6. PRGs not based on other environmental standards
known as Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs) are risk-based concentrations, derived from standardized equations combining exposure
information assumptions with EPA toxicity data. The policy rationale and technical underpinnings for this risk management approach is often misunderstood
by radiation professionals. This presentation will help clarify some of these misunderstandings by focusing on misstatements about the Superfund approach
that the author has encountered from radiation professionals. Often, they are citing the wrong EPA documents or portions of documents incorrectly, or not
reading sections of the correct Superfund guidance. For more information and to register, see https://www.itrcweb.org or https://clu-in.org/live.
> New Documents and Web Resources
Conducting Climate Vulnerability Assessments at Superfund Sites (EPA 542-R-23-002). The Engineering Forum, as one of three technical forums of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Technical Support Project, developed this issue paper to document lessons learned in conducting climate vulnerability
assessments (CVAs) at sites on the National Priorities List. The goals of a CVA are to assess future changes in climate conditions at a site so they may be factored
into site decision making; determine whether adaptation measures are necessary to improve remedy resilience; and ensure remedy protectiveness is maintained
under future changes in climate. The issue paper explains the three components of a CVA (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) and details six steps
in the CVA process implemented by EPA for Superfund sites. A CVA may be performed by federal or state authorities or potentially responsible parties for any
type of Superfund site at various stages of remediation. The CVA process described in the issue paper also may be adapted for application at contaminated sites
in other cleanup programs. To view or download, please visit https://www.clu-in.org/s.focus/c/pub/i/3 ...
Green Remediation Best Management Practices: Waste Cover Systems and Integrated Site Reuse Planning (EPA 542-F-23-002). Remediation at thousands of
sites across the United States involves addressing hazardous waste from former industrial landfills, aged municipal landfills, illegal dumps or waste piles.
When properly designed and maintained, a final cover system could provide opportunities to reuse a site for purposes such as renewable energy production and
greenspace preservation. Integrated site cleanup and reuse planning can provide economies of scale and avoid later retrofitting of remedial components
if site conditions or administrative goals change over time. The updated EPA fact sheet on this topic describes best management practices to reduce the environmental
footprint of constructing, maintaining and monitoring a waste cover system and highlights sites where such integrated planning is anticipated to enhance
long-term site sustainability and resilience. To view or download, please visithttps://www.clu-in.org/s.focus/c/pu ...
Climate Adaptation Profile: General Motors (Central Foundry Division). EPA recently released a climate adaptation profile describing measures taken
at the 218-acre General Motors site that borders the St. Lawrence River and Raquette River near Massena, New York. Remedial action at this National Priorities
List site has involved excavating, dredging, solidifying and consolidating contaminated soil and sediment for onsite capping or offsite disposal. Current
work focuses on maintaining the cover systems, extracting contaminated groundwater for ex situ treatment, and addressing contaminated soil and sediment
at adjacent tribal land of the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. The site is vulnerable to riverine and upland flooding associated with extreme precipitation
events or rapid snowmelt. Additionally, the site’s shoreline/subaqueous sediment cap is vulnerable to more intense wave action and more frequent ice jams.
Climate adaptation measures have included designing the site’s landfill cap to shed more than three times the surface water capacity required by New York regulations;
integrating a six-inch layer of stone armor in the subaqueous portion of the sediment cap; and constructing an engineered wetland that retains excess stormwater
shed from the landfill cap. To protect the groundwater extraction system from saturated soil and freeze conditions, the system’s mechanical and electrical
controls were installed in waterproof vaults positioned at depths below the site’s frost line. To view or download, please visit https://www.epa.gov/superfund/climate-ad ...
Research Brief 347: High-Temperature Biochar for Arsenic Remediation. Adding biochar produced at a high temperature may be an effective way to immobilize
arsenic in sediment, according to researchers partially funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP). The study, led by Owen Duckworth, Ph.D., of
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill SRP Center, in partnership with researchers from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of
São Paulo, Brazil, also provided further insight into the conditions that influenced the effectiveness of biochar for soil remediation. For more information
and to read the brief, please visit https://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/research ...
Technology Innovation News Survey Corner. The Technology Innovation News Survey contains market/commercialization information; reports on demonstrations,
feasibility studies and research; and other news relevant to the hazardous waste community interested in technology development. Recent issues, complete
archives, and subscription information is available at https://www.clu-in.org/products/tins/. The following resources were included in recent issues:
• Horizontal Directional Drilling and Horizontal Wells to Enhance Remediation at Complex Sites
• Industrial SCWO for the Treatment of PFAS/AFFF Within a Water Matrix
• Superfund Environmental Justice Best Practices
EUGRIS Corner. New Documents on EUGRIS, the platform for European contaminated soil and water information. More than four resources, events, projects
and news items were added to EUGRIS in November 2023. These can be viewed at http://www.eugris.info/whatsnew.asp . Then select the appropriate month and year
for the updates in which you are interested. The following resource was posted on EUGRIS:
Case Studies and Analysis of Sustainable Remediation Techniques and Technologies (CL:AIRE 2023). CL:AIRE’s Concawe bulletins describe the deployment
of sustainable remediation techniques and technologies on sites in Europe. Each bulletin includes a description of the project context and conceptual site
model along with a sustainability assessment. These bulletins form Appendix 1 of the Concawe report - Case Studies and Analysis of Sustainable Remediation
Techniques and Technologies. The report aims to fill in a recognised gap in the provision of detailed case studies documenting the practical implementation
of sustainable remediation, and facilitate further refinement of guidance. It contains a cross comparison analysis of the ten case studies, seeking to help
practitioners compare these case studies to their own projects. View or download from https://www.claire.co.uk/information-cen ...
> Conferences and Symposia
Save the Date! ITRC Annual Meeting, April 8-11, 2024, Long Beach, CA. Environmental professionals from the state, tribal and federal government, private
sector, and stakeholder groups come to ITRC's Annual Meeting to collaborate on critical environmental topics and guidance. For more information, please
visit https://itrcweb.org/itrcwebsite/events/2 ...
Design and Construction Issues at Hazardous Waste Sites (East), April 10-12, 2024, Philadelphia, PA. The Society of American Military Engineers organizes
this annual conference to share information about applications of engineering and science associated with cleaning up hazardous waste sites. The conference
panels focus on case studies, advances in processes such as remedy optimization, and emerging issues such as PFAS contamination. For more information, please
visit https://sites.google.com/samephiladelphi ...
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