United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5102W)
EPA 542-R-Q1-012
December 2001
www.epa.gov
vvEPA
Federal Remediation
Technologies Roundtable:
Creating Tools for the Hazardous
Waste Cleanup Community
The Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable leads the federal government's efforts to
promote interagency cooperation to advance the use of innovative technologies for the
remediation of hazardous waste sites and transfer the benefits of these cooperative efforts to
the site remediation community. Since its inception more than ten years ago, collaborative
efforts among the Roundtable member-agencies have led to technology development and
demonstration partnerships with private developers and a more consistent and unified federal
approach to technology evaluation and acceptance by regulators. The Roundtable also has
produced a wide variety of technology transfer tools and other information resources, and
identified and targeted national technology development priorities and problems that require
special attention (e.g., groundwater contamination, expedited site characterization) for
coordinated national action.
The Roundtable "agenda" is driven by the highest priority needs of the hazardous waste
cleanup community. The Roundtable always strives to stay one step ahead of the changes in
priorities, and address tomorrow's problems today. By convening open, semi-annual
meetings, the Roundtable offers a unique networking opportunity for the site remediation
technology community. The meetings bring together top federal cleanup program managers
and other remediation community representatives to:
• share information and learn about technology-related efforts of mutual interest,
• discuss future directions of the national site remediation programs and their impact on the
technology market,
• interact with similar state and private industry technology development programs, and
• form partnerships to pursue subjects of mutual interest.
A priority technical or policy issue is selected for each general meeting pf the Roundtable for
in-depth briefing and discussion. Recent technical and policy topics include long-term moni-
toring systems optimization, perchlorate treatment technologies and policy, monitored natural
attenuation of chlorinated solvents, and performance measures for federal technology assis-
tance programs. Minutes of past general meetings and agendas for upcoming meetings
are available on the Roundtable web site at www.frtr.org.
This brochure is a guide to Roundtable activities and products for technology developers,
remediation site project managers, regulators, engineering consultants, academics, and others
interested or involved in the development and use of hazardous waste characterization and
remediation technologies. Each section gives web site information.
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Round table Tools for Selecting Site Characterization
and Remediation Technologies
Characterization Technologies Screening Matrix
Currently, billions of dollars are being spent on characterizing contamination at hazardous waste
sites. Most of these funds are spent drilling wells, collecting samples, and analyzing samples,
usually at laboratories, an approach that can be costly and time-consuming. New technologies
offer faster and less costly characterization of sites. However, barriers to the use of new tech-
nologies include a lack of both investment capital and acceptance by regulators stemming from a
lack of credible performance data and a failure to establish proper data quality objectives for
the techniques.
The Field Sampling and Analysis Technologies Matrix is a screening tool that provides users
with an introduction to innovative, commercially available technologies for on-site monitoring
and measurement and helps identify technologies and methods that optimize sampling locations
and minimize well installation. The Matrix and the analytical field instruments listed in it are tools
for obtaining timely and reliable data to guide sampling investigations and minimize costs. The
companion Reference Guide provides a description of each technology and additional back-
ground information. The matrix is available on-line at www.frtr.gov/pubs.html.
Remediation Technologies Screening Matrix
The Remediation Technologies Screening Matrix provides a tool for evaluating and selecting
time- and cost-effective innovative site remediation technologies. These technologies face the
same set of barriers to selection and implementation as characterization technologies. The
Remediation Technologies Screening Matrix is an online, interactive screening tool that helps
users identify efficient, cost-effective innovative technologies and methods for remediating
particular sites. A search process allows users to present queries based on contamination
problems as well as specific technology issues, depending on their need. The matrix is avail-
able on-line at www.frtr.gov/pubs.html.
Cost and Performance Case Studies
The Roundtable's Cost and Performance Data Workgroup has produced guidelines for report-
ing cost and performance data for innovative remediation technologies. The member-agencies
used the guidelines to produce case studies reporting data from almost 300 full-scale
remediation efforts and large-scale demonstration projects. The case-study reports serve as a
primary reference source and contain project information on site background and setting, waste
source, contaminants and media treated, technology design and operation, performance, cost,
regulatory requirements, points of contact, and lessons learned. Case studies are 5 to 40 pages
in length and provide varying levels of detail, reflecting the differences in the availability of data
and information. A short abstract for each report summarizes information in each case study.
The case studies are available online at www.frtr.gov/pubs.html.
Roundtable Initiatives for Improving Existing System
Operations
Pump and Treat Optimization
The Roundtable has taken a leading role in a multi-agency effort to optimize long-term monitor-
ing and performance of pump-and-treat systems for groundwater remediation. These conven-
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tioaaal and^ery common remediation systems have high operation, maintenance, and monitoring
costs caused by their relative inefficiency. Inefficient systems can impact the effectiveness,
timing, and cost of remedial solutions.
As part of the effort to promote the effectiveness of pump and treat, the Roundtable sponsored
a 4-day conference, Subsurface Remediation: Improving Long-Term Monitoring and
Remedial Systems Performance, to assess long-term monitoring processes and practices and
the optimization of subsurface remedial performance. These processes and practices are
especially critical to in situ remedial methods, natural attenuation strategies, and other relatively
lengthy remedial alternatives. The objectives of the conference were to highlight successes and
issues related to improving the performance of subsurface remediation technologies, showcase
practical approaches to cost-effective monitoring of remedial performance, and identify research
gaps and needs from current practice. Proceedings of the conference are available at:
www.frtr. gov/optimization/optimize, html.
DNAPL Action Plan
The Roundtable has developed the Federal DNAPL Technologies Initiative Program (FeDTIP)
to accelerate the development and use of innovative technologies for remediating dense non-
aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in groundwater, which are present at many member agency
sites. Because DNAPLs are difficult to reach and their movement is difficult to characterize,
DNAPL contamination poses a number of complex engineering challenges.
The focus of the new initiative is on DNAPL sites where conventional technologies (particularly
pump-and-treat systems) take too long to meet national priorities. The goal of the action plan is
to develop a model for cooperative, coordinated technology development that reduces the
development time for in situ treatment technologies. The FeDTIP Action Plan targets five
technology classes—in situ thermal, surfactant cosolvent flushing, chemical oxidation,
bioaugmentation, and DNAPC characterization and modeling techniques. The plan proposes
collaborative efforts among federal agencies in technology demonstrations and deployments,
identification and resolution of key science and technology issues, development of technical
practices and design guidance manuals, and development of an effective technology
transfer process.
Tri-Agency Permeable Reactive Barrier Initiative
Three Roundtable member-agencies—the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and
Environmental Protection Agency—are cooperating under the Tri-Agency Permeable Reac-
tive Barrier Initiative to evaluate the field performance of several permeable reactive barrier
(PRB) technologies under a variety of site conditions for treating groundwater. PRBs offer cost
advantages for treating a variety of dissolved contaminants, including some chlorinated solvents,
heavy metals, and radionuclides commonly found at a number of sites.
The two main challenges facing the PRB technology are evaluating longevity of the system and
verifying its hydraulic performance. The objectives of the Initiative are to leverage the technical
and financial resources of the three agencies to examine the field performance of various PRB
systems, conduct field investigations to address any information gaps, and issue a joint guidance
document on long-term field implementation and monitoring of the technology. In 2001, the
three agencies will publish a combined report that summarizes the results and conclusions of the
Initiative and makes recommendations for PRB implementation and long-term monitoring. Each
agency also will prepare a final report detailing the methodology and results of the investigations
at their respective sites. More information is available at: www.frtr.gov/prb/.
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&EPA
Roundtable Tools for Accessing Federal Markets
Site Remediation Technology Infobase
The Roundtable recently revised its publication, Site Remediation Technology InfoBase: A
Guide to Federal Programs, Information Resources, and Publications on Contaminated
Site Cleanup Technologies (EPA 542-B-00-005), a tool for technology developers and users
to identify information resources and contacts for participation in the various technology devel-
opment assistance programs sponsored by the Roundtable member-agencies. The Infobase is
available at www.frtr.gov/pubs.html.
Ordering Information
For a complete list of FRTR publications, visit the FRTR web site at www.frtr.gov/pubs.html.
Most publications are available free for download from the website. A limited number of hard
copies are available free-of-charge from the U.S. EPA/National Service Center for Environ-
mental Publications (NSCEP), at me following address:
NSCEP
P.O. Box 42419
Cincinnati, OH 45242
Telephone: (800) 490-9198 or (513) 489-8190
Facsimile: (513) 489-8695
Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. An order form is available on the website.
United States Environmental Protection Agency
(5102W)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
Bulk Rate
Postage &
Fees Paid
EPA
Permit No. G-35
EPA-542-R-01-012
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