United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5102W)
EPA-542-N-96-003
June1996
Issue No. 15
QioQDd Water Currents
Developments in innovative ground water treatment
UNIQUE FIELD LABORATORY TO RESEARCH
PLANNED AQUIFER RELEASES
I he Groundwater Remedi-
ation Field Laboratory
(GRFL), located at Dover Air
Force Base, Delaware is the
first facility in the United
States where researchers can
conduct carefully planned
contained releases of chlori-
nated solvents and fuel into a
natural aquifer. It is the sec-
ond such faciility in the world.
GRFL is part of the National
Environmental Technology
Tests Sites Program (NETTS)
which was established under
and funded by the Strategic
Environmental Research and
Development Program
(SERDP) to enable efficient
and relevant demonstrations
of innovative and emerging
clean-up technologies.
SERDP is a multi-agency pro-
gram to respond to the envi-
ronmental requirements of the
military and those problems
that they share with the De-
partment of Energy and EPA.
The GRFL provides a test
bed and infrastructure for
evaluating the transport of
dense non-aqueous phase liq-
uids (DNAPL) contamination
in ground water and soil and
for the demonstration and
verification of remediation
and monitoring technologies.
The GRFL allows for detailed
evaluation of emerging
technologies by conducting
contained release experi-
ments. These experiments
allow researchers to con-
duct mass balance type
studies in a controlled
field setting. The results of
these studies will provide
information necessary to
design and engineer im-
proved treatment systems
for contaminated soils and
ground water. The State of
Delaware Department of
Natural Resoures and Envi-
ronmental Control has is-
sued a permit to GRFL un-
der Title 7 Chapter 60 of
the State Code.
The first experiment will
look at the co-oxidative
bioventing of a mixture of
jet fuel and chlorinated sol-
vents. This technology,
if successful, will have
wide application to the
remediation of mixtures
of organic compound in
the vadose zone and may
represent a cost effective
remediation tool.
Here is the history of the
construction of the GRFL.
The site characterization ef-
fort involved a complex, in-
tegrated program of field
and laboratory studies to
analyze a broad range of
hydrogeological and bio-
geochemical properties.
The characterization effort
was broken into two phases
with multiple tasks. Tasks
included: surface geophy-
sics, cone penetrometer
survey and soil borings,
laboratory analyses of soil
properties, pumping test,
tracer test, unsaturated hy-
draulic conductivity, air
conductivity and a 3-D
ground water model.
Surface geophysical stu-
dies were performed on a
10 meter grid that was es-
tablished at the site. Geo-
physical surveys included
ground penetrating radar
(GPR), high resolution seis-
mic, surface resistivity and
low frequency electromag-
netics. These studies were
completed by a team of re-
searchers and consultants
including Applied Research
Associates, the University of
Delaware and the Air Force
Phillips Laboratory. All the
surface geophysical data
produced similar results on
site geology. The site con-
sists of a water table aquifer
11 to 14.5 meters thick un-
derlain by an aquitard
which ranges from 8 to 12
meters thick. The water
table is approximately
8 meters below ground
surface.
Soil samples were sent
for analyses of physical,
chemical, microbiological,
(continued on page 3)
This Month in Currents
NEW GROUND WATER LAB
P. 1
ISSUES
P. 2
BOOKSHELF
P. 2
REGULATORY CLOSURE
P. 3
SPECIAL INSERT
Do not miss the special insert in
this issue of Currents
Recycled/Recyclable
Printed with Soy/Canola ink on paper that contains at least 50% recycled fiber
-------
I he EPA Regional Ground
Water Forum is a group of
EPA professionals represent-
ing Regional Superfund and
Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act Offices com-
mitted to the identification
and resolution of ground
water issues impacting the
remediation of Superfund
and RCRA sites. The Fo-
rum has three GROUND
WATER ISSUE publica-
tions of interest to the read-
ers of GROUND WATER
CURRENTS related to
nonaqueous phase liquids
(NAPLs) and low-flow sam-
pling. All of these publica-
tions can be ordered by call-
ing the Center for Environ-
mental Information (CERI)
at 513-569-7562 and refer-
ring to the Document
Numbers (given below).
"Nonaqueous Phase Liq-
uids Compatibility with
Materials Used in Well
I wo new documents from
the State perspective have
been published. Both deal
with injectants. EPA has
also published a manual on
ground water and leachate
systems. A brief description
of each is given below.
SURFACTANT INJEC-
TION FOR GROUND-
WATER REMEDI-
ATION: STATE REGU-
LATORS' PERSPEC-
TIVES AND EXPERI-
ENCES (EPA Document
No. EPA542-R-95-011).
This report is based on a se-
Construction, Sampling and
Remediation" (Document
No. EPA/540/S-95/503)
provides a comprehensive
literature review regarding
the compatibility of NAPLs
with a wide variety of mate-
rials used at hazardous waste
sites. A condensed reference
table of compatibility data
for 207 chemicals and 28
commonly used well con-
struction and sampling
equipment materials is pro-
vided. Field experiences il-
lustrating incompatibility
problems of common wastes
are also included. This will
assist monitoring and recov-
ery system design personnel
with the decision making
process concerning the most
effective materials to be used
in heavily contaminated
subsurface environments.
"Light Nonaqueous Phase
Liquids" (Document No.
EPA/540/S-95/500) con-
tains a discussion of
LNAPL transport. It ad-
dresses LNAPL transport
through porous media and
transport parameters such as
density, viscosity, interfacial
tension, wettability, capil-
lary pressure, saturation and
residual saturation and rela-
tive permeability. LNAPL
migration at the field scale
is discussed, including
Darcy's Law, field scale ver-
sus pore scale, migration
through the vadose zone,
accumulation at the water
table, smearing due to fluc-
tuating water table, migra-
tion in fractured media and
migration through man-
made pathways. The publi-
cation also addresses the
fate of LNAPLs in the sub-
surface, site characteriza-
tion, LNAPL characteris-
tics, sampling and remedi-
ation. Extensive references
are provided.
NEW FOR THE BOOKSHELF
ries of interviews with State
regulators involved in the
review and approval of ap-
plications for demonstra-
tions or applications of sur-
factant technologies for the
remediation of ground wa-
ter. The report focuses on
identifying specific technical
issues, non-technical prob-
lems, training and technical
or policy needs that would
contribute to improving the
use of in situ surfactant en-
hancements. The goal of
the study was to identify
barriers and describe suc-
cesses in gaining State regu-
Recycled/Recyclable
latory approval, in order to
promote understanding
among various
stakeholders vital to devel-
oping this important tech-
nology. The publication
can be ordered from the
National Technical Infor-
mation Service (NTIS) (Or-
der No. PB96164546),
5285 Port Royal Road,
Springfield, VA 22161
(telephone number: 703-
487-4650).
STATE POLICIES CON-
CERNING THE USE OF
INJECTANTS FOR IN
"Low-Flow (Minimal
Drawdown) Ground-Water
Sampling Procedures"
(Document No.EPA/540/S-
95/504) is intended to pro-
vide background informa-
tion on the development of
low-flow sampling proce-
dures and its application
under a variety of hydro-
geologic settings. It is
hoped that the paper will
support the production of
standard operating proce-
dures for use by EPA re-
gional personnel and other
environmental professionals
engaged in ground water
sampling. It addresses moni-
toring objectives and design
considerations, definition of
low-flow purging and sam-
pling, low-flow (minimal
drawdown) sampling proto-
cols, low-permeability for-
mations and fractured rock
and contains a list of scien-
tific/technical references.
SITU GROUND WATER
REMEDIATION (EPA
Document No. EPA-542-
R-96-001). This report is
based on information about
State policies and regulatory
programs affecting demon-
strations or use of injectants
for the remediation of con-
taminated ground water.
The report focuses on iden-
tifying specific State regula-
tory and policy barriers to
the use of techniques that
enhance in situ ground wa-
ter treatment technologies
(continued on page 3)
Ground Water Currents
Printed with Soy/Canola ink on paper that contains at least 50% recycled fiber
-------
REGULATORY CLOSURE
REGULATORY CLOSURE AFTER INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY REMEDIATION
f\t the Lawrence
Livermore National Labo-
ratory (LLNL) in
Livermore, California, en-
vironmental regulatory
agencies have concurred
that remediation of gaso-
line contaminated soil
above the water table is
complete. This is the first
formal regulatory closure of
a non-excavation cleanup
activity at the Laboratory's
Livermore site since clean-
up began in 1988. A rela-
tively inexpensive innova-
tive technology known as
Dynamic Underground
Stripping was used to clean
up 29,000 liters of gasoline
that leaked into the ground
from an underground gaso-
line storage tank a number
of years ago. Researchers
from LLNL and the Uni-
versity of California (UC)
at Berkeley teamed up to
demonstrate a unique and
new combination of tech-
nologies that comprise Dy-
namic Underground Strip-
ping. The process employs
vapor extraction during un-
derground steaming and
electrical heating. The heat
is applied by steam and
electricity to vaporize
trapped contaminants in
the soil.
Once vaporized, the con-
taminants are removed by
vacuum extraction. The
processes are monitored and
guided by underground im-
aging. Dynamic stripping
removed most of the gaso-
line (29,000 gallons) in
only nine months of active
time and at a cost $ 11 mil-
lion for treatment and the
supporting research. It is
estimated that the same
cleanup would now cost $6
million over six months.
This is in contrast to exca-
vation biodegradation that
would have taken a year
and cost about $30 million.
Pump and treat activities
have been estimated to take
200 years at this site with
cost ranging from $20 mil-
lion to $60 million.
The U.S. EPA, the Califor-
nia Department of Toxic Sub-
stances Control and the Re-
gional Water Quality Control
Board-San Francisco Bay Re-
gion concluded that soil
cleanup efforts above the
water table at the site of the
gasoline spill were no longer
necessary and that the soil
remediation efforts have met
or exceeded "Applicable or
Relevant and Appropriate Re-
quirements" as stated in the
Livermore Site Record of De-
cision agreed to by the regula-
tory agencies in 1992.
Cleanup of contaminated
ground water continues.
For more information, contact
Gordon Yano at 510-423-3117.
(continued from page 1)
mineralogical properties by
the Air Force Wright Lab,
the University of Delaware
and Virginia Polytechnical
Institute and State Univer-
sity. Results of these studies
show the water table aqui-
fer to consist of a fining
upward sequence overlain
by a coarsening upward se-
quence of fine to medium
sands with varying amounts
of silt, clay and gravel. The
soils are slightly to moder-
ately acidic and have rela-
tively low cation exchange
capacities due to low clay
contents and the predomi-
nance of kaolinite in the
clay fraction. The micro-
biological study indicated
that both the total popula-
tion and activity of micro-
organisms decreases with
depth. Samples from the
aquitard were determined
to be silty clays and clayey
silts with significant amounts
of montmorillonite clay.
Infrastructure at the site
consists of a doubled walled
sheet pile test cell, an on-site
trailer mounted cone pen-
etrometer system, and a GIS
(continued on page 4)
(continued from page 2)
through the use of injecting
surfactants, co-solvents
and nutrients. The goal of
the study was to identify
institutional barriers that
may inhibit the use of
injectants. The study
briefly describes experience
and policies of each state
and provides a contact per-
son who can provide addi-
tional information. The
publication can be ordered
from NTIS (Order No.
PB96-164538) at the ad-
dress and number above.
MANUAL: GROUND-
WATER AND
LEACHATE TREAT-
MENT SYSTEMS (EPA
Document No. EPA/625/
R-94/005) This manual
was developed for remedial
design engineers and regu-
latory personnel who over-
see the ex situ ground-wa-
ter or leachate treatment
efforts of the regulated
community. The manual
can be used as a treatment
technology screening tool
in conjunction with other
references. More impor-
tantly, the manual briefly
presents technical consider-
ations (or concepts) for use
when evaluating, designing
or reviewing a system de-
sign for the treatment of
contaminated ground wa-
ter or leachate from land
disposal operation. It is not
intended for use as a detailed
design manual for specific
technologies. For Superfund
applications, readers should
follow the presumptive guid-
ance for contaminated ground
water that EPA's Superfund
program has issued. The
manual can be ordered from
the Center for Environmental
Research Information at 513-
569-7562
Ground Water Currents
-------
(continued from page 3)
based data acquisition and
control system (DACS).
A modular building was
set up to provide on site of-
fice and laboratory capabili-
ties for the permanent GRFL
staff and visiting principle
investigators.
The sheet pile test cell
was constructed using the
patented Waterloo Barrier
Scalable Joint Sheet Pile.
The test cell is approximately
5 by 10 meters and sur-
rounded by a second 7 by 12
meter cell of the same con-
struction. Although unique
groutable joints require the
box to be built above ground,
it is keyed into underlying
aquitard 12 meters below
ground surface. Once con-
struction is completed, the
joints are flushed and grouted
to ensure a complete seal.
An average hydraulic con-
ductivity for the test cell has
been determined to be in
the 10E-9 cm/sec range.
After construction of the
test cell is complete, the cell
is covered with a temporary
structure to prevent rain
water from infiltrating the
cell. This allows for better
control of environmental
factors affecting a remedi-
ation process.
The Air Force's new trailer
mounted cone penetrometer
(CPT) unit is capable of in-
stalling wells and collecting
soil samples within the con-
fines of the test cells. The
CPT system has the capabil-
ity of conducting CPT tests
for soil type; collecting soil,
water and soil gas samples;
and installing monitoring
wells up to 2 inches in di-
ameter.
The DACS will collect
and maintain a data base of
all experimental data and
has the ability to perform
some control functions for
experiments in the field.
The DACS may be remotely
accessed to provide re-
searchers not on site with
real time data. The office
laboratory contains an area
for sample preparation and
has an HP6890 GC with
ECD and FID detectors for
analyses of soil, water or soil
gas.
The Dover NETTS site
provides support to environ-
mental technology demon-
strations at various sites
around Dover Air Force
Base. Additionally, GRFL
has participated in the Part-
nership for Peace program
by hosting visiting scientists
and engineers from North
Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion (NATO) members and
Eastern European countries.
For more information, call
GRFL's Principal Investiga-
tors Mark Noll at 302-677-
4147 and/or Alison Thomas
at 904-283-6303.
MAILING LIST/ORDER INFO/ON-LINE ACCESS
To get on the permanent mailing list for Technology Innovation Office publications or to order additional copies of this or previous issues of Ground Water Currents,
send a fax request to the National Center for Environmental Publications and Information (NCEPI) at 513-489-8695, or send a mail request to
NCEPI, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH 45242-2419. Please refer to the document number on the cover of the issue if available.
Ground Water Currents can be obtained by accessing EPA's Clean-Up Information Bulletin Board System (CLU-IN): by calling 301-589-8366;
via the Internet by telnet to CLU-IN.EPA.GOV or 134.67.99.13. For voice help call 301-589-8368
Ground Water Currents welcomes readers' comments and contributions. Address correspondence to:
Tech Trends, NCEPI, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH, 45242-2419
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5102W)
EPA 542-N-96-003
June 1996
Issue No. 15
Ground Water Currents
Developments in innovative ground water treatment
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