United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
NERL/Environmental Sciences Division
P.O. Box 93478
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
June 2000
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
vvEPA Field Research Facility
Under Construction
at the Nevada Test Site
View looking north
at the town of
Mercury on the
Nevada Test Site.
Excavation of the
FRF in Mercury.
The dorm building
in background will
be used as office
and storage space.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), National Exposure Research
Laboratory (NERL) is in the process of
constructing a Field Research Facility (FRF)
at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Nevada Test Site (NTS). Final completion of
the facility is anticipated in October, 2000.
The NTS has been declared an
Environmental Research Park, and other
research on environmental topics, such as
global warming and the containment and
cleanup of gaseous spills, are ongoing at
the site. The FRF will be located in Mercury,
Nevada; a government operated town on
the NTS 75 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
This facility will be operated by the NERL's
Environmental Sciences Division,
Characterization and Monitoring Branch
(CMB). This controlled spill field research
facility will be a unique research and
development site for experiments related to
innovative technology demonstration,
ground water and vadose zone monitoring,
soil sampling, chemical leak and spill
detection, and geophysical site
characterization.
It is anticipated that multiple experiments
will be conducted in this facility, ranging
from geophysical experiments, ground-
water sampler testing, soil sampler testing
and evaluation, to remediation monitoring
experiments.The FRF will be filled with
selected types of porous media (e.g., soil,
silt, sand, gravel) or with engineered
materials (slurry walls or filter walls)
depending on the type of experiment to be
conducted. Most of these experiments will
be performed sequentially during one
controlled spill event.
284CMBOO •» Rev. 6/27/00
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Cross section of
FRF showing
geomembrane
liners and the
concrete test cell.
For Further
Information
The facility will consist of a non-metallic
reinforced concrete tank, underlain by a leak
containment system consisting of
geomembrane liners. The tank will have
interior dimensions of 9 by 12 meters, and
will be 3 meters deep. The tank will have a
unique nonmetallic reinforcing rod system
that will allow geophysical experiments
using electromagnetic tools and ground
penetrating radar to be undertaken with no
outside interference from the tank's
construction. There are no other research
facilities that have this capability. Porous
media of known physical parameters will be
placed in the tank so experiments can be
undertaken without the additional problems
of unknown site characterization that occur
at sites in natural materials.
In addition to the tank, a mobile laboratory
already acquired by CMB will be deployed
at the site. The mobile lab unit will provide
analytical facilities for both laboratory grade
and field portable instruments. An existing
dormitory complex at the site will also
provide office and storage space for the FRF
based research projects.
Upon completion of the initial spill
experiments, research is proposed to
examine remediation and containment
technologies. In conjunction with other EPA
scientists at Athens, Georgia, and Ada,
Oklahoma, research could be conducted into
soil and ground water remediation.
Remediation techniques researched could
include: bioremediation, air sparging, the
use of oxidizers, and pump and treat. The
effectiveness and rate of these techniques
can be accurately monitored in the FRF. In
addition, design and monitoring of types of
containment technologies, such as slurry
walls and sheet pilings, could be studied.
Future possible experiments include:
sampling device comparisons for ground
water samplers, soil samplers, and vadose
zone pore liquid samplers for organic and
inorganic contaminants. In these studies,
traditional samplers as well as new in-situ
devices will be tested. Tests of factors
relating to the design of monitoring wells
can also be conducted including grout
design, filter pack design, and screen
designs. A peer-reviewed research plan has
been completed by CMB for the first several
experiments to take place in the FRF. These
experiments will involve the spilling of a
DNAPL, perchloroethylene (PCE), into the
tank and conducting geophysical, ground
water, and soil monitoring of the movement
and distribution of the PCE.
Geologic exploration of the foundation of
the facility and rough excavation of the site
occurred in January of 2000. It is
anticipated the placement of the
geomembrane liners and the concrete will
begin in May or June of 2000, with final
completion in October. The facility was
designed by the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation's Technical Service Center in
Denver, Colorado. The facility is being
constructed under the DOE's contract with
Bechtel Nevada Corporation at the NTS.
i Compacted Embankment
Aquifer
Test Soils
Geomembrane Liners
Fiberglass Reinforced Concrete
Please contact Steven Gardner at (702) 798-2580 or e-mail: gardner.steve@epa.gov.
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