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NRMRL MONTHLY REPORT FOR JULY 2003
Stephen G. Schmelling, Division Director
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Peterson/Puritan Superfund Site, Region I: On July 24, 2002,
Ralph Ludwig (GWERD) provided Regional Hydrologist Dick
Willey and RPM David Newton with review comments on a
document titled "Evaluation of Technical Impracticability of
Groundwater Restoration for Arsenic" prepared for the
Peterson/Puritan Superfund Site in Cumberland, RI. The report
presented a "weight-of-evidence" argument that arsenic
remediation to previously agreed criteria is not practical. The
detailed comments addressed a number of issues needing
additional support including: arsenic correlations with ferrous iron
and oxygen, for example; injection of oxygenated water; obtaining
soil/sediment samples outside the limits of the site to demonstrate
that arsenic is naturally occurring; and phosphate and sulfate
competition with arsenic for adsorption sites. Also discussed was
the construction of a permeable reactive barrier at the site.
(R. Ludwig(GWERD)580-436-8603)
Swope Oil and Chemical Company Superfund Site, Region II: On July 2, 2003, Dominic DiGiulio (GWERD) provided RPM Joseph Gowers with an evaluation of soil vapor data for the soil vacuum extraction (SVE) system at the Swope Oil and Chemical Company Superfund Site in Camden County, NJ. Discussed in considerable detail were the limitations of using asymptotes in vapor extraction wells to determine remediation progress, and the use of vapor probes to determine the time for soil sampling and respiration testing. (D. DiGiulio(GWERD)580-436-8605)
Army Creek and Delaware Sand and Gravel Landfills, Region
III: On July 7, 2003, John Wilson (GWERD) provided RPM
Debra Rossi with review comments on an optimization study and
plan to address ground-water conditions in the vicinity of the Army
Creek and Delaware Sand and Gravel Landfills in New Castle
County, DE. The review focused on prospects for the natural
biological degradation of bis (2-chloroethyl) ether, benzene, and
1,2-dicloroethane. Graphic figures were provided depicting the
attenuation of COCs with distance along the centerline of flow as
well as with time at a selected downgradient monitoring well. It
was suggested that the primary mechanisms for attenuation at this
time are dilution and dispersion. It was also suggested that air
injection, soil vacuum extraction, and in-situ aerobic
biodegradation in the source area should be considered.
(J. Wilson(GWERD)580-436-8534)
Ohio River Park Superfund Site, Region III: On July 14, 2003,
John Wilson (GWERD) provided RPM Romuald Roman with
comments on a draft monitoring plan for the Ohio River Park
Superfund site on Neville Island in the Ohio River at Pittsburgh,
PA. Among the areas discussed were the location of the screen in
a new well with respect to the location of residual hydrocarbons,
attenuation parameters including methane and sulfate,
interpretation of rates of attenuation, and sampling methods and
frequency in terms of minimizing data variability.
(J. Wilson(GWERD)580-436-8534)
PGG Contractors Landfill, Region V: On June 26, 2003, Scott
Huling (GWERD) provided RPM Allen Debus with comments
concerning the feasibility of the chemical oxidation of
contaminants in ground water at the PGG Contractors Landfill in
Barberton, OH. Since it appears that chloroform is one of the main
contaminants, and it is not reactive with permanganate, the
proposed remediation would have limited results with respect to
oxidation and could result in the mobilization of heavy metals. It
was suggested, however, that sodium persulfate is an experimental
form of oxidant that may serve a useful purpose at this site. Also
discussed was the possibility of enhanced contaminant transfer due
to significant quantities of oxygen and heat resulting from the
injection of hydrogen peroxide.
(S. Huling(GWERD)580-436-8610)
Phoenix/Goodyear Airport Site, Region IX: On June 24, 2003,
Dominic DiGiulio (GWERD) provided RPM Jim Sickles with
review comments concerning a proposal to use emulsified zero
valent iron in lieu of soil vacuum extraction (SVE) to remediate the
vadose zone at the Phoenix/Goodyear Airport Site in Phoenix, AZ.
Areas of discussion included SVE effectiveness in removing VOCs
from the vadose zone and ground water, offsite vapor migration,
treatment goals of SVE balanced with ground water remediation,
and a SVE vapor mass flux treatment system. It was suggested that
SVE should not be discontinued at this site.
(D. DiGiulio(GWERD)580-436-8605)
BKK Landfill, Region IX: In a continuing technical assistance
effort at the BKK Landfill in West Covina, CA, Steven Acree
(GWERD) and Kelly Hurt (Dynamac) provided Project Manager
Carmen Santos with technical review comments on the
"Groundwater Corrective Measures Implementation Plan." In the
July 7, 2003, response it was suggested that the impact of a
proposed golf course should be integrated into the site conceptual
model including infiltration and the effects of herbicides,
pesticides, and fertilizers which will be applied to the land. Also
discussed were well tests, statistical measures for evaluating
performance, and the efficacy of natural ground-water divides as
barriers.
(S. Acree(GWERD)580-436-8609)
Boomsnub/Airco Superfund Site, Region X: On June 24, 2003,
Randall Ross (GWERD) and Milovan Beljin (Dynamac
Consultant) provided RPM Lee Marshall with review comments on
a ground-water modeling summary report for the Boomsnub/Airco
Superfund Site in Hazel Dell, WA. While most of the previously
identified issues regarding the ground-water flow model appear to
have been addressed, several fundamental problems limit the utility
of the solute transport modeling effort. Issues discussed include
modeling results of natural attenuation, crucial importance of
understanding the vertical transport of contaminants, TCE and
chromium decay constants, and contaminant retardation by
adsorption on the soil matrix.
(R. Ross(GWERD)580-436-8611)
Wilson, John T. (GWERD). "Aerobic In Situ Bioremediation." In
MTBE Remediation Handbook (Ellen E. Moyer and Paul T.
Kostecki, editors), Amherst Scientific Publishers, Amherst, MA.
(2003) NRMRL-Ada-02121
(J. Wilson(GWERD)580-436-8534)
http://www.aehs.com/publications/catalog.htm
An, Youn-Joo (ORISE) and Donald H. Kampbell (GWERD).
"Total, Dissolved, and Bioavailable Metals at Lake Texoma
Marinas." Environmental Pollution, 122(2):253-259 (2003).
NRMRL-Ada-02213
(D. Kampbell(GWERD)580-436-8564)
http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/4/0/5/8/5/6/
Jorgensen, Eric E. (GWERD). "Small Mammals: Consequences of
Stochastic Data Variation for Modeling Indicators of Habitat
Suitability for a Well-Studied Resource." Ecological Indicators,
1(4):313-321 (2002).
(E. Jorgensen(GWERD)580-436-8545) NRMRL-Ada-03232
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolind
Su, C., and R. W. Puls. In situ remediation of arsenic in simulated
groundwater using zerovalent iron: Laboratory column tests on
combined effects of phosphate and silicate. Environmental Science
and Technology, 37(11):2582-2587 (2003).
NRMRL-Ada-03111
(C. Su(GWERD)580-436-8638)
http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/index.html
Monitored Natural Attenuation of MTBE. During July 21
through 24, John Wilson (GWERD) visited with Seth Daugherty
and other staff of the Environmental Health Section of the Orange
County Health Care Agency. This agency implements the
underground storage tank program for most of Orange County,
California. GWERD has a joint project with the Section to
determine the source of the high concentrations of tertiary butyl
alcohol (TBA) in monitoring wells in Orange County. The primary
purpose of the visit was to review the initial results from analyses
of stable carbon isotope ratios in MTBE contamination in the
wells. A shift in the stable carbon isotope ratios indicates that the
TBA at most of the study sites was produced by biodegradation of
MTBE originally present in gasoline spills. On July 22, Wilson
presented two hours of in-service training to staff of the
Environmental Health Section on techniques to evaluate monitored
natural attenuation of fuel components in ground water.
(J. Wilson(GWERD)580-436-8534)
Chunming Su (GWERD) presented a poster, co-authored with Robert Puls, entitled "Nitrate Reduction and Transformation in Organic Compost Media: Laboratory Batch Tests'' at the 7th Battelle In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Conference held in Orlando, Florida, June 2-5, 2003.
Cynthia Paul (GWERD) gave an invited presentation entitled "VOC Sampling in the Water Table/Capillary Fringe Area for Assessing Impact on Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Air Quality" at the Indoor Air Quality Problems and Engineering Solutions Specialty Conference and Exhibition, July 21-23, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The following presentations were given this month at the GWERD Seminar Series: On July 11, Dr. Thomas Pichler, University of South Florida, gave a presentation on "Monitoring Groundwater for Sources of Arsenic." On July 29, Pat Billig and Patrick Williamson (Waterstone Environmental Hydrology and Engineering, Inc.) gave a seminar titled "GIS-Based Decision Support Tools for Remediation Management and Monitoring Optimization."
Dave Renfro of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Dallas, Texas, presented a program on effective communication for EPA staff on July 17. While at GWERD, he also met with the Trust and Communications Work Group.
Ruby Sugg, Sandy Savage, Kathy Roe, Charles McCormick, and Cathy Basu from Cincinnati's Procurement Operations Division were at GWERD on July 21 for a Customer Service visit. They conducted on-site reviews with our contractors and presented training related to simplified acquisitions, student services acquisition authority and appropriate government/contractor relations.
Hershel Chronister (GWERD) spent the week of July 21st in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he performed management reviews of both NRMRL's Water Supply & Water Resources Division and Land Remediation & Pollution Control Division.
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIESDuring 1983, while working with the United Kingdom's Harwell Laboratory, Dr. John Rees spent six months working as a visiting scientist at EPA's Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory in Ada. Dr. Rees studied microbial processes which affect organic pollutants in the unsaturated soil profile as they relate to land treatment technologies. Dr. Rees, now owner and managing director of CELTIC Technologies Ltd. in Cardiff, Wales, UK, visited GWERD on July 7 to learn more about current research activities at GWERD that are relevant to waste remediation in the U.K. He was briefed on Phil Kaiser's work concerning hydraulic isolation of sources of ground-water plumes, on Xiaoxia Lu's work on biological reductive dechlorination of solvents in ground water, and on the work of Rick Wilkin, Robert Ford, Chunming Su and John Wilson concerning abiotic transformations of chlorinated solvents. He also renewed acquaintances with several EPA staff including Roger Cosby, Steve Schmelling, and John Wilson.
COMMUNITY OUTREACHDuring July, Tour Coordinator Linda Jackson (GWERD) hosted two college groups majoring in science: the University of Oklahoma's "Research Experience for Undergraduates" class, and students and faculty from Eastern Oklahoma State College who are taking a research class at the Defense Ammunition Center, funded by the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Both groups were interested in seeing research techniques conducted outside of the laboratory. They were shown drilling and other field equipment, areal photography technology, and visited EPA's local research field site at Gaar Corner, where well injection research and ecosystem restoration studies are conducted.
PERSONNELDillon Payne, a senior Cartography major at East Central
University (ECU), participated in the ECU McNair Scholars
Program from February through July. As a McNair Scholar,
Dillon was required to conduct a research project under the
direction of his EPA mentor, David Burden (GWERD). Dillon's
interest was in the area of environmental applications of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS). His project was titled
"GIS Applications to the Lake of the Arbuckles Watershed." The
objective of the project was to gather a database of spatial data for
the Lake of the Arbuckles Watershed, estimate rainfall run-off
within the five soil types in the watershed, and finally investigate
water quality of four of the major streams flowing into the lake.
Dillon also utilized GPS (Global Positioning System) technology
to map sampling locations within each of the four streams. His
project will be presented at ECU at the fall McNair Scholars Poster
Session.
(D. Burden (RSKERC) 580-436-8606)