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NRMRL MONTHLY REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 2006
Stephen G. Schmelling, Division Director
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Pine Street Superfund Site, Region 1: On February 14, Steven
Acree (GWERD) and Bruce Pivetz (Dynamac) provided RPM
Karen Lumino with comments on a draft work plan and field
sampling plan for the Pine Street Superfund Site in Burlington,
VT. In general, no significant problems were noted during the
review. General comments, however, were offered in a number of
areas including the possible effects of invasive subsurface
activities on the release of NAPLs, NAPL migration trends, and
mechanisms for NAPL release. Other comments addressed the
measurement of NAPL thickness in monitoring wells, NAPL
sampling and characterization, and a contingency plan.
(A. Acree(GWERD)580-436-8609)
Fulton Avenue Superfund Site, Region 2: On January 20, Scott
Huling (GWERD) provided RPM Kevin Willis with comments on
a draft feasibility study report for the Fulton Avenue Superfund
Site in North Hempsted, NY. In general the study provides a good
foundation upon which to develop a more detailed in-situ chemical
oxidation (ISCO) feasibility study. A number of issues were
identified which require additional detailed evaluation. Prior to the
deployment of in-situ permanganate oxidation, it was
recommended to investigate the potential downgradient transport
of MNO4- and recovery, advantages of direct push technology for
oxidant injection, evaluation of long-term impact of soluble
manganese in ground water, and assessment of oxidant-specific
injection requirements.
(S. Huling(GWERD)580-436-8610)
City of Aberdeen Wellhead Protection Plan, Region 3: On
February 13, Randall Ross (GWERD) and Milovan Beljin
(Dynamac) provided Hydrogeologist Kathy Davies with review
comments on a document titled "City of Aberdeen Wellhead
Protection Plan: Groundwater Modeling Report." In general, the
stated objectives of the modeling project were considered to be
correct and complete. Detailed discussions were offered with
respect to the model domain, boundary conditions, recharge,
aquifer properties, model calibration, sensitivity analysis, and
simulations.
(R. Ross(GWERD)580-436-8611)
Memphis Defense Depot Site, Region 4: On January 19, Ralph
Ludwig (GWERD) attended a meeting in Atlanta, GA, to discuss
ongoing remediation efforts at the Memphis Defense Depot Site in
Memphis, TN. Attendees at the meeting included representatives
from EPA Region 4, Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Army, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation, and consultants. Discussions were held
regarding the proposed installation of a deep aquifer zero valent
iron permeable reactive barrier (PRB) to be used to treat a
dissolved chlorinated solvent plume. It was agreed that a pilot test
PRB 50-feet long consisting of overlapping zero valent iron/sand
columns, completed to a depth of approximately 90 feet, would
initially be installed. The pilot test is scheduled for installation in
April 2006.
(R. Ludwig(GWERD)580-436-8603)
Shaw Air Force Base, Region 4: On January 20, Steven Acree
(GWERD), and Bruce Pivetz and Milovan Beljin (Dynamac)
provided RPM Dawn Taylor with review comments on a site
conceptual model for Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC. Several
issues were discussed including whether monitored natural
attenuation (MNA) will occur in an aerobic environment without
enhancement, effectiveness of a proposed pump and treat remedy,
plume delineation and capture, use of a regression analysis to
predict time of remediation, and the source of contamination.
(S. Acree(GWERD)580-436-8609)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) RCRA Site, Region 6:On February 10, Robert Ford, Steven Acree, and Randall Ross
(GWERD) and Greg Davis (Dynamac) provided LANL Project
Manager Richard Mayer with review comments on a number of
documents concerning well construction practices and water
quality evaluations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
(LANL) RCRA Site in Los Alamos, NM. The review focused on
the capability of existing hydrogeologic characterization wells to
provide representative ground-water samples for all site-related
constituents of concern. It was suggested that the questions and
issues raised are valid, and in many cases, difficult to reliably
answer. However, it is correct to identify the intrusion of bentonite
and organic drilling fluids as potential problems for reactive
contaminants of concern and it is likely that many of the screens
may not produce representative samples for constituents that
strongly sorb to clays or whose fate in the environment is sensitive
to changes in redox conditions for some period of time.
((GWERD)Ford:580-436-8872/Acree:580-436-8609/Ross:580-436-8611)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) RCRA Site, Region 6:On February 16, Robert Ford and Steven Acree (GWERD)
provided RPM Richard Mayer with comments concerning a well
screen analysis report for the Los Alamos National Laboratory
RCRA Site in Los Alamos, NM. The focus of the review was the
criteria used to evaluate the representativeness of ground-water
samples from well screens installed under the hydrogeologic
characterization program. In general, the criteria failed to consider
impacts that may be present following biodegradation of residual
organic drilling additives and the return of oxidizing conditions.
Issues discussed were screening analysis protocol, statistical
analysis, sample collection and preservation, and criteria
validation.
((GWERD)Ford:580-436-8872/Acree:580-436-8609)
10th Street OU2 Superfund Site, Region 7: On February 14,
Scott Huling (GWERD) provided P.E. Nancy Swyers with review
comments on documents related to proposed chemical oxidation
activities at the 10th Street OU2 Superfund Site in Columbus, NE.
Several comments and recommendations were offered to improve
the planning reports including the omission of details of the bench-
and pilot-scale treatment studies, proposed injection procedures
including injection wells, soil and ground-water sampling program,
and analytical summary. Also discussed in detail were the
advantages of MnO4- over H2O2 remediation approaches.
(S. Huling(GWERD)580-436-8610)
Asarco Smelter Site, Region 8: In a continuing technical
assistance effort at the Asarco Smelter Site in East Helena, MT,
Steven Acree and Richard Wilkin (GWERD) provided RPM Linda
Jacobson with a review of an addendum to an interim measures
work plan. The February 14, 2006, comments stated that, in
general, the work plan did not provide sufficient details regarding
the scope of the proposed remediation alternatives to allow a
thorough review of either the possible effectiveness or the
estimated costs. Issues discussed in detail included the limitation
of pump-and-treat technology, in-situ stabilization or
encapsulation, infiltration of oxygenated water, physical barriers,
and air sparging.
((GWERD)Acree:580-436-8609/Wilkin:580-436-8874)
George Air Force Base, Region 9: On February 2, Randall Ross
(GWERD) and Milovan Beljin (Dynamac) provided RPM James
Chang with technical review comments on a three-dimensional
ground-water model at the George Air Force Base in Victorville,
CA. With regard to the flow model development, comments
addressed the model's objective, grid design, boundary conditions,
hydraulic conductivity distribution, and recharge. Comments
directed at the fate and transport model development included
contaminant source definition, horizontal and vertical dispersivity
values, degradation processes, and model verification.
(R. Ross(GWERD)580-436-8611)
ONGOING RESEARCH
Field Sampling at Altus Air Force Base. During January 30
through February 2, Cherri Adair (GWERD) and Hai Shen
(National Research Council) conducted a field trip to Altus AFB,
OK, to collect ground water samples from monitoring wells in the
full-scale perimeter mulch biowall.
(Cherri Adair 580-436-8969)
X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Experiments at the Advanced
Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. Douglas Beak,
Robert Ford and Richard Wilkin (GWERD) carried out X-ray
absorption spectroscopy experiments at the Advanced Photon
Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. Access to this
instrumentation at APS was obtained through an on-going
collaboration between ORD/NRMRL and the Materials Research
Collaborative Access Team (MR-CAT) to facilitate EPA research
into contaminant chemical speciation in environmental matrices
(Jim Ryan, Project Officer, NRMRL/LRPCD). Investigations at
the APS support GWERD projects on inorganic contaminant fate
and transport and geochemical processes affecting the performance
and functioning of Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRBs) for
ground-water restoration. The objectives at this most recent run
(February 24 - February 26) were to study the speciation and
chemical behavior of arsenic in water containing dissolved
hydrogen sulfide. This information is needed to assess factors
governing the transport and fate of arsenic in natural systems and
to develop more effective ground-water remediation processes.
(Richard Wilkin 580-436-8874/Robert Ford 580-436-8872)
MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
Robert Ford (GWERD) presented at the 7th Superfund National Radiation Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT on February 9. The title of the presentation was "Evaluating Monitored Natural Attenuation for Radionuclide and Inorganic Contaminants in Groundwater." The authors are Robert Ford, Richard Wilkin, and Robert Puls (GWERD), Kenneth Lovelace and Stuart Walker (OSWER/OSRTI, Washington, DC), and Ronald Wilhelm (OAR/ORIA, Washington, DC). Subjects covered in the presentation included the types of site characterization data needed to support the use of Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) as part of a site remedy for ground-water contamination. The presentation included discussion of approaches to deal with radionuclide contaminants that, during radioactive decay, produce daughter products possessing different transport and risk characteristics.
SPECIAL EMPHASIS PROGRAM NEWS
To celebrate National Black History Month, the GWERD Special Emphasis Program invited Reverend Charles R. Hill, pastor of Philemon Baptist Church, to give a brief presentation about black history pertaining to the contributions of black people to America and how they arrived. He noted that in the past, history books have abridged American history by showing blacks as slaves and not recognizing their contributions to the country. Contributions by African Americans to American history included those made by Benjamin Banneker who helped survey and design Washington, D.C., Crispus Attucks who rallied Bostonians to fight and was one of the first to die in the Boston Massacre, and George Washington Carver, who revolutionized the southern agricultural economy by showing that 300 products could be derived from the peanut.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
"Speciation of arsenic in sulfidic waters", co-written by Richard Wilkin and Robert Ford (GWERD) has been Geochemical Transactions' most cited article since 2002.