United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research and Development (481)
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response (5102G)
EPA B42-F-98-00>7
May 1998
www.epa.gov
RTDF Update
RTDF
Remediation Technologies
Development Forum
A Progress Report on the Remediation Technologies Development Forum (RTDF)
INSIDE
In Situ Flushing Team
Establishes Subgroups Page 1
USAFToUse
Accelerated Anaerobic
Biodegradation for
Dover AFB Cleanup Page 2
RTDF Cometabolic
Bioventing Field Test
Begins at Dover AFB Page 3
RCI Verification
Statement To Be Signed
for Lasagna™ Process Page 3
New Reports on
Phase HA Lasagna™
Demonstration on Web Page 3
IINERT Team Producing
Soil/Site Survey Page 3
Joplin Site Shows Pb
Reduction Page 4
Agencies To Coordinate
PRB Long-Term
Performance Research Page 4
PRB Team Focus of
International Interest Page 5
Phytoremediation Team
TCE Subgroup Seeking
Industry Participants Page 5
Alternative Covers
Workshop Focuses on
RCRA Landfills Page 5
Phytoremediation Team
TPH Subgroup Holds
First Teleconference Page 6
S/ru FLUSHING TEAM
Focus:
• NAPLs
• Solubilization/mobilization
•• In ground water
In Situ Flushing Team
Establishes Subgroups
The RTDF's In Situ Flushing Action Team has
established four new subgroups to accomplish
the work involved in a year-long project to
encourage the use of in situ flushing technolo-
gies for remediating non-aqueous phase liquids
(NAPLs). The project's four primary goals
reflected in the subgroups are to conduct an eco-
nomic assessment, develop performance criteria,
prepare a guide on best technical practices, and
develop a full-scale design model.
Economics and Recovery/Reuse
The Economic Assessment and Remedial Agent
Recovery/Reuse Subgroup is chaired by Dr. Jeff
• Harwell (University of Oklahoma). This sub-
group focuses on:
• Identifying how to recover and reuse surfac-
tants for different NAPLs (e.g.,
chlorohydrocarbons) and summarizing the
technological status and cost of these
methodologies;
• Examining the pros and cons of using vari-
ous "bottom-line" flushing cost measures
and determining which measures are the
most useful;
• Reviewing and comparing existing econom-
ic analyses, identifying the assumptions
used to generate them, and presenting this
information in a "user-friendly" form; and
• Surveying state regulators to determine their
attitudes toward surfactant injection and
reinfection and using this information to
produce "best-practice" guidelines.
Endpoint Assessment
Dr. George Losonsky (IT Corporation) and Randy
Parker (U.S. EPA) chair the Endpoint
Assessment/Technical Performance Criteria
Subgroup. The subgroup's objectives are to:
• Develop guidelines for establishing
acceptable target endpoints for contaminant
concentrations and surfactant concentrations
that remain in the soil after flushing is
completed;
• Develop guidelines for predicting the ability
to reach target endpoints and any potential
negative outcomes; and
• Develop a framework for performance
assessment.
Technical Practices
Dr. Gary Pope (University of Texas) chairs the
Technical Practices/Protocol Subgroup. This
group's objectives are to:
Create a "living," up-to-date technical guide
on both best practices and technology
needs; and
Design the technical guide for the Internet
so that the document can be updated by the
group and linked to relevant source docu-
ments.
About the RTDF
The Remediation Technologies Development
Forum (RTDF), which was established in
1992, is a consortium of partners from
industry,government,and academia who are
working together to develop safer,more
effective, and less costly characterization
and treatment technologies for remediation.
For information on RTDF and Action Teams
visit the RTDF Home Page at
http://www.rtdf. org
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RTDF Update * May 1998
The Subgroup already has developed a draft
outline for the two-volume technical guide,
using the Technology Practices Manual writ-
ten by the Advanced Applied Technology
Demonstration Facility (AATDF) as a
resource and "point of departure." Volume I
will address "What We Know Now" and will
be targeted for regulators and contractors.
Volume U will address "What We Still Need
To Do" and will be targeted for researchers.
Full-Scale Design
The Full-Scale Design Subgroup is chaired
by Dr. Michael Annable (University of
Florida). The Subgroup's objectives are to:
• Develop a hypothetical full-scale in situ
flushing design that will serve as a
model for others; and
• Identify a full-scale design project in
which this Subgroup might serve in an
advisory role.
The Subgroup expects to produce a docu-
ment outlining steps involved in the full-scale
design process and significant issues, and to
share additional site designs through the In
Situ Flushing Action Team's home page on
the RTDF site on the World Wide Web. The
Subgroup is looking for sites that might qual-
ify as one of the first full-scale remediation
studies and intends to make frequent reports
on the RTDF Web site on the progress of the
search and details of the design development
at the selected site or sites.
More details about the plans of these
Subgroups, including information on how to
participate, is available on the In Situ
Flushing Action Team's home page on the
RTDF Web site. The In Situ Flushing Action
Team is planning its next meeting for
Summer 1998, and the agenda will include
updates on the Subgroup's work. For more
information, contact Action Team Co-chairs,
Dr. Lynn Wood (U.S. EPA/National Risk
Management Research Laboratory
[NRMRL]), 405-436-8552 or (e-mail)
wood.lynn@epa.gov, or Mr. Steve
Shoemaker (DuPont Engineering), 281-586-
2513 or (e-mail)
stephcn.h.shoemaker@usa.dupont.com.
BlOREMEDIATION CONSORTIUM
Focus;
• Chlorinated solvents
• Degradation
• In soil and ground water
USAFTo Use Accelerated
Anaerobic Biodegradation for
Dover AFB Cleanup
Based on the RTDF Bioremediation of
Chlorinated Solvents Consortium's
successful demonstration of the
effectiveness of accelerated anaerobic
biodegradation, the U.S. Air Force has
elected to use the process in full-scale
cleanup of a plume at the Dover Air Force
Base (DE) site. Full-scale implementation
currently is scheduled for 1999.
The goal of the Consortium's work related
to accelerated anaerobic biodegradation is
to understand thoroughly the operation,
cost, and performance of the process to
degrade chlorinated solvents in ground
water and to work out microbial parameters
(see Figure 1). In situ anaerobic
dechlorination is typically limited by the
availability of food and nutrients for
microbial growth. The Consortium's initial
work on accelerated anaerobic
biodegradation focused on determining
what these nutritional limitations are and
how to deliver additional nutrients to the
aquifer effectively. In addition, the early
studies determined which electron donors
and acceptors best support anaerobic
bioremediation; optimized the chlorocarbon
destruction rate; and determined what
factors control the degradation kinetics.
The Consortium installed a pilot accelerat-
ed anaerobic biodegradation system at
Dover AFB in 1996. The Consortium
installed three injection wells to deliver
additives and constructed three recovery
wells downgradient to provide the ground
water to be augmented. Together, the wells
created a hydraulically contained cell for
the test. In October 1996, the Consortium
injected additives. They included sodium
lactate as the substrate, or electron donor,
ammonium phosphate as the nutrient, and a
small amount of yeast extract.
By March 1997, TCE in the cell was com-
pletely degraded to cis-DCE by native
bacteria, but was not fully degrading to
non-toxic by-products. As a result of this
development, the Consortium elected to
augment a portion of the pilot with
Injection
Wells
• Substrate, Nutrients, and
Nonindigenous Bacteria
Recovery
Wells
Ground Water Row
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of accelerated anaerobic
biodegradation.
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RTDF Update * May 1998
among the participating agencies through
each agency's principal investigator to
ensure maximum synergism among the
proposed projects.
For more information, contact Action
Team Co-chair Dr. Robert Puls (U.S.
EPA/NRMRL) at 580-436-8543 or (e-
mail) puls.robert@epa.gov.
PRB Team Focus of
International Interest
Interest about the Permeable Reactive
Barriers (PRB) Action Team and its activi-
ties is high among several countries
including Germany, the Netherlands, and
the United Kingdom. Dr. Robert Puls (U.S.
EPA/NRMRL), Co-Chair of the Action
Team, met in February with researchers
and environmental program managers from
a number of European countries during a
"Special Topics Technical Session on
Permeable Reactive Barriers" in Vienna,
Austria. The session was part of the NATO
Committee on the Challenges to Modern
Society (CCMS) Phase III Pilot Study
Meeting, involving 14 countries engaged in
the transfer of technological and scientific
solutions among countries with similar
environmental issues and problems.
As a result of the technical session and
subsequent discussions, several European
countries proposed formation of an
European PRB Action Team, including
possibly establishing some linkage with the
RTDF Team in the United States.
Dr. Puls is continuing discussions with
country representatives and providing addi-
tional information in support of this
initiative. A summary of proceedings from
the Technical Session is expected to be
available this Summer on the RTDF World
Wide Web site. For more information, con-
tact Dr. Puls at 580-436-8543 or (e-mail)
puls.robert@epa.gov.
PHYTOREMEDIATION TEAM
Focus:
• Solvents, TPH, PAH
• Degradation/immobilization
• In soil and ground water
Phytoremediation Team TCE
Subgroup Seeking Industry
Participants
The TCE in Ground Water Subgroup of the
RTDF Phytoremediation of Organics
Action Team is looking for potential indus-
trial partners. This includes companies or
associations in the drying cleaning, aero-
space, electronics, and other industries that
have used halogenated solvents heavily and
have had to clean metal via vapor degreas-
ing prior to painting or plating. Such
potential partners also may be potentially
responsible parties for sites with environ-
mental contamination from
trichloroethylene (TCE) and/or per-
chloroethylene (PCE). The TCE Subgroup
believes these companies and individuals
would have an interest in phytoremediation
because of its promise as a less expensive
and more sustainable approach in dealing
with halogenated solvents in soil and
ground water.
The Subgroup also is interested in working
with DOE's Biomass Power Program and
Biofuels Feedstock Development Program
to find ways to leverage their expertise in
industrial scale poplar tree plantations.
These groups focus on providing a sustain-
able option for meeting projected needs for
electric generating capacity and fuels.
While the DOE groups have different
objectives than the RTDF, the Subgroup
can benefit from lessons learned by these
groups, since they have many years' experi-
ence.
For more information about the plans,
activities, and partnership opportunities in
the Phytoremediation Team's TCE
Subgroup, visit the RTDF World Wide Web
site or contact Subgroup Co-chairs Greg
Harvey (U.S. Air Force) at 737-255-7716,
extension 302 or (e-mail)
harveygj@emsmtp.wpafb.af.mil, or Harry
Compton (U.S. EPA) at 908-321-6751 or
(e-mail) compton.harry@epa.gov.
Alternative Covers Workshop
Focuses on RCRA Landfills
Members of the Phytoremediation of
Organics Action Team Alternative Covers
Subgroup participated in a February 1998
workshop in Las Vegas, NV, focusing on
issues involved in the application of
alternative covers to standard RCRA
landfills. The workshop, sponsored by the
Desert Research Institute, served as a
followup to the Action Team's meeting on
alternative covers held in September 1997.
Approximately 75 stakeholders participated
in the workshop including U.S. EPA
Headquarters, three EPA Regional Offices,
eight states, DoD, DOE, U.S. Department
of Interior, local city and county
governments, and private industry and
consultants.
The purpose of the workshop was to
develop and formalize a demonstration
project to assess alternative landfill covers.
The Alternative Covers Assessment
Program (ACAP) will establish a dispersed
network of test facilities across the country.
ACAP will focus on increasing the base of
knowledge about alternative covers and
addressing data gaps, including those
related to water infiltration rates, effects of
climatic changes, and long-term monitoring
techniques. In conjunction with field work,
the demonstration will establish and modify
existing numerical computer models for the
design and evaluation of alternative landfill
covers. A Cooperative Research and
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RTDF Update 4- May 1998
• orchard sites on which PbAsO4 pesti-
cides have been applied
• soils contaminated mainly from paint
or leaded gasoline emissions
• firing ranges
The IINERT Team wants to study soils and
sites with total Pb concentrations from 0.2
to 1 percent, although concentrations above
and below this range also may be desirable.
Other inorganic and organic contaminants
also may be present. The plan is to collect
surface soil samples in bulk (55 gal.) from
each of the Pb-contamination source
groups. The samples will include soils of
various textures and pH. All soils will be
characterized by standard methods for
relevant soil properties and made available
to IINERT Team members for additional
study.
As of March 16, 1998, information had
been collected on four types of sites (see
Figure 2). The IINERT Team is looking for
additional sites. If you can help, please
complete a survey form and send it to the
Team. The blank survey form is available
on the RTDF World Wide Web site. Just
click on the IINERT Soil-Metals Action
Team page, and click again on the
"Technical Documents" button. Send com-
pleted survey forms to Team Co-chair Dr.
Bill Berti at DuPont Central Research and
Development, Glasgow Site 301, P.O. Box
6101, Newark, DE 19714-6101 or (e-mail)
bill.berti@usa.dupont.com. For questions,
contact Dr. Berti at 302-451-9224.
Tvoe of site
Number
Smelting/Mining sites 12
Industrial or waste sites
Battery Cracking 2
Acid sludge disposal 1
Metal
Disposal sites 3
Lead paint 1
Total
.19
Joplin Site Shows Pb
Reduction
Analysis of grass collected from the Joplin
(MO) field research site six months after
treatment application indicates that in-place
Pb inactivation technologies are able to
reduce plant Pb concentrations over control
levels by up to 90 percent. The field study
has been a cooperative effort of the IINERT
Soil-Metals Action Team, U.S. EPA,
Missouri Department of Natural Resources,
University of Missouri, U.S. Department of
Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service,
the Doe Run Company, and DuPont
Company.
An animal dosing study, using weaning rats
as a human surrogate, has begun. This
study is using the same soils collected from
the Joplin plots that have been used in the
University of Missouri pig dosing study.
Results from these studies will help deter-
mine the next step to translate in-place
inactivation into a practical and accepted
remediation technology.
For more information about the Joplin field
study, contact Action Team Co-Chair Dr.
Bill Berti at 302-451-9224 or (e-mail)
bill.berti@usa.dupont.com.
PERMEABLE REACTIVE BARRIERS TEAM
Figure 2. Preliminary results from
soil/site survey.
Focus:
• Chlorinated solvents, metals
• Degradation/immobilization
• In ground water
Agencies To Coordinate PRB
Long-Term Performance
Research
The U.S. EPA, DOE, and Department of
Defense (DoD) recently agreed to adopt a
coordinated approach for addressing long-
term performance issues for permeable
reactive barrier (PRB) projects. The RTDF's
Permeable Reactive Barriers Action Team
will serve as advisor to facilitate
coordination of the different agency efforts
and will establish uniform testing protocols
to be applied by all cooperating groups.
A January 1998 meeting at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory brought together
researchers and research program managers
from the three agencies to discuss
interagency collaboration on research
focused on PRB long-term performance.
Participants agreed that funding requests
from each agency will be much less than
would be required for a single,
comprehensive program. During the
meeting, participants discussed specific
measurement and research tasks and
listed scientific issues related to
geochemistry, microbiology, hydrology,
sampling, analysis, and modeling. They
also identified topics of mutual concern
and expertise and requirements unique to
each organization.
Participants set the following objectives
for the proposed work: 1) to develop a
priori testing requirements that predict
the longevity of a PRB, 2) to develop
monitoring methods that will provide an
early warning of incipient barrier failure,
and 3) to develop long-term monitoring
protocols that minimize operation and
maintenance costs. They agreed that it
would be necessary to select sampling
and analytical methods that will ensure
direct comparability for all data to be
obtained. In addition, they agreed that
each agency would be chiefly responsible
for obtaining data at its own sites.
Participants recognized, however, that
each agency has unique monitoring
expertise and will need to be involved, in
some cases, in making specific measure-
ments at all of the walls being studied.
The DOE portion of the project will
focus on the installations at the Oak
Ridge Y-12 Plant and Kansas City Plant.
DOE's Portsmouth X625 long-term pilot
study facility also may be addressed
depending upon the status of that project.
DOE and EPA will collaborate on work
at DOE's Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site. EPA's portion of the
project will focus on the U.S. Coast
Guard Elizabeth City (NC) site and the
Denver Federal Center site. DoD's
portion includes the Moffett Field site
and may include others. Data will be
shared through regular conference calls
and sharing of routine project reports.
Final reports for specific milestones will
be peer-reviewed by the principal
investigators and their designees from the
other participating agencies.
Each agency is preparing proposals for
research on the long-term performance of
PRBs. These proposals will be shared
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RTDF Update + May 1998
microorganisms that have the ability to fur-
ther degrade DCE and vinyl chloride. In
June 1997, cultures from the U.S.
Department of Energy's Pinellas (FL) Plant
were introduced into one of the three injec-
tion wells. In this area of the plume,
cis-DCE degraded to ethene, and good
mass balance was observed. The culture
took 90 days to become active, and three
more months to achieve full degradation.
Initial concentrations were approximately
4,000 - 5,000 ppb of TCE and DCE com-
bined.
Operation and evaluation of the Phase I
pilot is scheduled to continue through
Spring 1998. The Consortium also plans to
assist in the scale-up of the technology at
Dover AFB. For more information, contact
Consortium Co-chair Dr. David Ellis
(DuPont Speciality Chemicals) at 302-892-
7445 or (e-mail)
ellisde@csoc.dnet.dupont.com.
Information about other Consortium pro-
jects is available on the Bioremediation
Consortium home page of the RTDF site on
the World Wide Web.
RTDF Cometaboiic Bioventing
Field Test Begins at Dover
AFB
The first known field test of propane-stimu-
lated cometabolic bioventing began in
December 1997 at Dover AFB. The site
contains TCE, 1,2-DCE and 1,1,1-TCA in
the range of 1-50 mg/kg. The initial phase
of operation is acclimation of the test plot
to propane. Propane (0.1-1% v/v in air) is
periodically injected into the vadose zone
over a 1-3-month period. Eventually, the
soil microbes will begin to use propane as a
food source. The commencement of
propane use indicates that the chlorinated
solvents are being destroyed simultaneous-
ly. After acclimation, the system will be
operated for approximately nine months
using constant slow injection of propane
and air.
For more information, contact Greg Sayles
(U.S. EPA/NRMRL) at 513-569-7607 or (e-
mail) sayles.gregory@epa.gov.
LASAGNA PARTNERSHIP
Focus:
• TCE
• Degradation
• In low-permeability soils
RCI Verification Statement To
Be Signed for Lasagna™
Process
Signing of a Rapid Commercialization
Initiative (RCI) Verification Statement for
the Lasagna™ process developed by
RTDF's Lasagna™ Partnership is expected
to be completed this month. The RCI is a
federal-state-private cooperative effort to
facilitate regulatory acceptance and expe-
dite the application of new environmental
technologies.
The Verification Statement indicates the
acceptance by the signatories of cost and
performance data from the Lasagna™
Partnership's Phase IIA-Vertical demonstra-
tion at the U.S. Department of Energy's
(DOE's) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant,
completed last year. The Statement is being
signed by representatives of DOE, U.S.
Department of Commerce, U.S. EPA,
Southern States Energy Board, MSB-
Technology Applications, Inc., the
California Environmental Protection
Agency, DOE's Oak Ridge Operations
Office, Enviro-Chem Systems, Inc., and
Monsanto Company. Letters of concur-
rence to this Verification Statement are
being provided by the appropriate environ-
mental organizations in South Carolina,
Kentucky, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, and
Massachusetts.
Based on the results of the Phase I and II
demonstrations, which began in 1995, DOE
decided to seek regulatory approval to use
the Lasagna™ process and cited it as the
preferred remedy in the proposed Record of
Decision (ROD) for a Solid Waste
Management Unit at the Paducah site.
A copy of the Verification Statement and
the final report of the Lasagna™ RCI par-
ticipants will be available on the Lasagna™
Partnership home page of the RTDF site on
the World Wide Web in May 1998. For
more information about the vertical
Lasagna™ process, contact Action Team
Co-chair Dr. B. Mason Hughes (Monsanto)
at 314-694-1466 or (e-mail) b.mason.hugh-
es@monsanto.com.
New Reports on Phase ISA
Lasagna™ Demonstration on
Web
The RTDF's Lasagna™ Partnership has
posted two new documents on the
Partnership's home page on the RTDF site
on the World Wide Web. These documents,
"Modeling and Iron Dechlorination
Studies" and "Iron Dechlorination Studies,"
report on work completed during the Phase
IIA-Vertical Lasagna™ demonstration,
completed in 1995, at DOE's Paducah (KY)
Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The new
documents and eight Phase I topical reports
can be viewed or downloaded from the
RTDF web site. Information on how to
obtain printed copies also is available.
[INERT SOIL-METALS TEAM
Focus:
• Lead
Immobilization/inactivation
• In soil
(INERT Team Producing
Soil/Site Survey
The In-Place Inactivation and Natural
Ecological Restoration Technologies (IIN-
ERT) Soil-Metals Action Team is
circulating a survey to help identify poten-
tial research field sites and to collect
sufficient quantities and types of soils for
research purposes. The Team has grouped
the types of sites to be included in these
studies based on the source of lead (Pb)
contamination, such as:
• industrial or waste sites, including
tetraethyl lead and ammunition
manufacturing, burning grounds, and
battery breaking
mining and smelting operations
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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
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RTDF Update • May 1998
Development Agreement (CRADA) will be
established among the demonstration
participants to perform the joint effort.
In addition to discussing ACAP, attendees
examined regulatory and industrial needs
associated with applying nonconventional
covers.
A complete summary of the meeting is
available on the Phytoremediation of
Organics Action Team page on the RTDF's
World Wide Web site. For additional infor-
mation about the ACAP demonstration,
contact Action Team Co-chair Steve Rock
(US. EPA/NRMRL), 513-569-7149 or (e-
mail) rock.steven@epa.gov.
Phytoremediation Team TPH
Subgroup Holds First
Teleconference
The Phytoremediation of Organics Action
Team has formed a subgroup to focus on
degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in
near-surface soils.
The group held its first conference call on
March 18. Efforts will focus on the use of
plants to degrade petroleum-contaminated
soils which occur at petroleum refining,
storage, transfer, and disposal sites. Some
of the sites that could be examined by the
group already have been identified. A mis-
sion statement has been proposed for the
group which is aimed at combining exper-
tise, technologies, and resources to conduct
phytoremediation field tests for degradation
of petroleum hydrocarbons. The object of
this work is to develop guidelines for future
applications, and gain public and regulatory
acceptance. Specific topics for discussion
include the development of a standardized
protocol for evaluation of plant suitability
for phytoremediation of TPHs, and the
gathering of available information in the
open and grey literature applicable to phy-
toremediation of TPHs. The TPH
phytoremediation subgroup is likely to
meet at the IBC conference in Houston this
June 22-25.
A summary of the March 18 teleconference
call is available on the Phytoremediation of
Organics Action Team's page on the
RTDF's World Wide Web site. For more
details, contact Action Team Co-Chair and
Subgroup Chair Lucinda Jackson (Chevron)
at 510-242-1047 or (e-mail)
luaj@chevron.com, Subgroup Chair Phil
Sayre (U.S. EPA) at 202-260-9570 or (e-
mail) sayre.phil@epa.gov, or Action Team
co-chair Steve Rock at 513-569-7149 or (e-
mail) rock.steven@epa.gov.
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