United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
Publication 9200.5-008K
November 1990
&EPA Superfund Technology
When Superfund began 10 years ago, land disposal was the common way to get rid of hazardous
waste, and EPA was working to design safer landfills. However, EPA, the scientific community, and
the public quickly became concerned over the wisdom of depositing Superfund wastes in even the best
designed landfills. Numerous studies suggested that these landfills might become future Superfund
sites.
Congress gave Superfund two powerful incentives for developing innovative technologies to treat
wastes. First, the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCR A) required a nationwide phaseout of land disposal of certain wastes. Second, the
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 created a new Superfund Innovative
Technology Evaluation (SITE) program and directed EPA to select permanent treatment technologies
over land disposal.
Recent Progress
Since SARA, Superfund's use of treatment technologies has increased steadily. Treatment of waste
was a part of 54 percent of remedies selected to control the sources of contamination in FY '87. This
percentage increased to 69 percent in FY '88 and to 72 percent in FY '89. Where treatment was part of
the remedy, use of innovative technologies increased from 26 percent in FY '87 to 40 percent in FY '88
to 51 percent in FY '89. Innovative technologies for soil treatment receiving research priority include:
• Air Stripping: a treatment system that removes, or "strips," volatile organic compounds
from contaminated groundwater or surface water by forcing an airstrcam through the water and
causing the compounds to evaporate. The evaporated compounds are captured and contained by
activated carbon filters to prevent their release into the atmosphere.
• Thermal desorption: this process uses heat to remove organic contaminants from soil for
further treatment
• In-situ Vitrification: this process electrically melts soils and sludges contaminated with various
waste types (e.g., radioactive, inorganic, and/or organic), creating an extremely stable glass-like
solid.
• Soil Washing: this process segregates and reduces the volume of wastes by spraying and rinsing
soil with a washing fluid. Contaminated fluid is treated using conventional wastewater
treatment technology. This technique is potentially effective in treating various organic and
inorganic wastes found in soils.
• In-situ Vacuum Extraction: this technique for treating volatile organics in soil is similar to the
air stripping technique used for groundwater remediation. A vacuum applied through wells
vaporizes the volatile organics which are then removed from the air using activated carbon.
• Solvent Extraction: this technique uses various solvents to extract contaminants from soil for
further treatment.
• Bioremediation: this process uses microbes to break down organic contaminants in the soil into
harmless substances. The soil can be treated in place or excavated and treated.
• Chemical Dechtorination: this process is used to detoxify contaminants such as PCBs by
removing the chlorine atoms.
To promote greater use of innovative technologies, EPA has made it easier to test technology in the
field and has made technology experts available to decision-makers in the Regions.
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Technology Innovation Office
EPA has established a Technology Innovation Office to increase applications of innovative treatment
technology by government and industry to contaminated waste sites, soils, and groundwater. Increased
usage will be accomplished through the removal of regulatory and institutional impediments and the
provision of richer technology and market information to targeted audiences of Federal agencies,
States, consulting engineering firms, responsible parties, technology developers, and the investment
community. The scope of this mission extends to corrective action under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act and underground storage tank cleanups.
SITE Program
Recognizing the need for long-term protection of public health and the environment, EPA is cautious
about the use of unproven treatment technologies. The SITE program lets EPA test and evaluate
promising technologies. Under the demonstration portion of the program, EPA matches a technology
developer with an appropriate Superfund site. Typically, the developer is responsible for all logistics
and costs associated with .setting up and operating the demonstration unit. EPA monitors the demon-
stration and prepares a detailed set of reports identifying the technology's effectiveness on the wastes
treated and its applicability to other wastes commonly found at Superfund sites. These reports are
publicly available. Today, approximately 70 vendors with technologies at various stages of develop-
ment are participating in the demonstration and other elements of the SITE program.
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