UNITED STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
HIGHLIGHTS
OF
20 YEARS OF RESEARCH
AT
EDISON, NEW JERSEY
RELEASES CONTROL BRANCH
RISK REDUCTION ENGINEERING LABORATORY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
EDISON, NEW JERSEY
NOVEMBER, 1990

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HIGHLIGHTS OF 20 YEARS OF
RESEARCH AT EDISON, NEW JERSEY
Since 1969, United States Environmental Protection Agency researchers in Edison, New
Jersey have held a leading position in EPA's marathon effort to improve the American
environment.
A small laboratory, established that year on the site of the former Raritan Arsenal,
marked the beginning of today's full fledged research facility. Its original mission was to
support studies by the newly-formed Water Pollution Control Administration. This scientific
think-tank now houses the Releases Control Branch and the Stormwater Program - both
parts of the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory in EPA's Office of Research and
Development.
From those humble beginnings 20 years ago, valuable discoveries have followed in
many areas -- in cleaning up hazardous waste, in evaluating innovative treatments for it,
in testing new equipment, in creating new analytical devices -- all at the Edison
laboratories.
The Releases Control Branch (RCB) and the Stormwater Program are the successors
to the 1969 laboratory. When the federal government transformed the Raritan Arsenal into
EPA Region ll's suburban home (The Region also maintains offices in New York City.),
both research groups remained at the "Raritan Depot."
EPA's commitment to research in New Jersey is one way it fulfills the Congressional
mandate to develop new treatments -- safer alternatives to burying hazardous waste.
RCB will continue to guide emerging methods through safe and thorough testing. It
hands off its technological developments to industry for commercial use across the nation.
New Jersey is one of the states which will benefit most from this research; it has a large
portion of the sites on EPA's National [cleanup] Priority List.
The research milestones that EPA has reached - and passed - in Edison, New Jersey
lie in six directions:
Evaluating and improving new hazardous waste treatments
Detecting/cleaning up leaks from underground storage tanks (UST)
Cleaning up oil spills that threaten our waterways
Preventing pollution from contaminated stormwater
Improving protective equipment for environmental personnel
Removing hazards that result from chemical spills
EPA's research accomplishments are best illustrated by specific projects from each of
these six areas.
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The Mobile Incineration System

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EVALUATING AND IMPROVING NEW HAZARDOUS
WASTE TREATMENTS --
Research under the Superfund Program
EPA was prepared for the passage of the unprecedented Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980. This law, informally called either
CERCLA or "the Superfund Act," and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act
of 1986, called SARA, gave the Agency responsibility for the cleanup of uncontrolled
hazardous waste sites. In 1980, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) began
a program to support Superfund activities.
Two responsibilities defined EPA's continuing Superfund role: the remediation of
hazardous waste (including land disposal) and the cleanup of hazardous spills. ORD
established a program to develop and evaluate cleanup technologies. Eventually this
program was assigned to the Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory (RREL) housed in
Cincinnati, Ohio and Edison, New Jersey.
The Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory's Releases Control Branch (RCB), in Edison,
has made significant contributions to the development and demonstration of innovative
technologies for the cleanup of hazardous waste. These "innovative" alternatives to land
disposal of waste will solve environmental problems instead of burying them.
RCB follows very strict and safe procedures in developing these technologies.
It first tests them on the tiny laboratory scale. When the results there are satisfactory, a
larger bench-scale experiment follows. Only when these carefully controlled tests using
small quantities of contaminated material have proved successful, will RCB build a pilot-
scale unit. This unit is usually a mobile, trailer-sized prototype for a commercial system.
Again, with extreme care, RCB tests the process, Back-up systems ensure that no
release of hazardous material will occur. After all the analytical results are tabulated, EPA
publishes a formal report. The technology is then offered for transfer to a commercial
partner so that it can be applied to actual hazardous waste site problems.
Innovative Technologies Developed at RCB
Some examples of the many technologies developed by RCB in the past include the
Mobile Incineration System, the Mobile Soils Washer System, and the Mobile Carbon
Regeneration System.
The Mobile Incineration System
The Mobile Incineration System (called the "MIS") is an excellent example of RCB's
approach to innovative technology research and development. Branch scientists
conceived the idea of an "incineration system on wheels." EPA could move it from one
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The Mobile Soils Washer System

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contaminated site to another throughout the country.
A systematic approach to MIS development began. It went through all the traditional
steps for the creation/permitting/approval of an innovative thermal technology to destroy
hazardous waste (i.e., bench-scale research, prototype development, repeated testing,
pilot-scale design, fabrication, shakedown and trial-burn testing).
The MIS became one of the Agency's most successful and visible activities. RCB
eventually moved it to the Denney Farm Site in McDowell, Missouri. There it successfully
destroyed more than 13 million pounds of dioxin-contaminated soil from eight Southwest
Missouri Superfund sites. Supported by the local community, the state, and EPA
Region VII, the MIS operated there from 1985 to 1989.
The Mobile Soils Washer System
This innovative Soils Washer System separates contaminated soils into various-sized
particles. The smaller particles are usually the most highly contaminated. They are
separated out for further filtration and destruction by another treatment, such as
incineration. The larger, coarse particles are washed so they can be safely returned
whence they came. This "volumetric reduction" process is a safe and cost-effective way
of treating soils contaminated by spilled and abandoned hazardous materials.
The Mobile Carbon Regeneration System
One treatment for contaminated water uses granular activated carbon (GAC). When
the contaminated water is pumped through GAC, its organic pollutants "stick" to the
carbon. Eventually, the GAC becomes so full of contaminants that it is "spent" and no
longer usable.
The Mobile Carbon Regeneration System was developed to extract adsorbed
contaminants from the GAC and destroy them, thus regenerating the carbon for reuse.
EPA could move the mobile unit to a hazardous waste site for use with another treatment.
This would not only regenerate the GAC, but also make the other technology more
efficient and cost-effective.
The Federal Technology Transfer Program
Congress has directed federal agencies, by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of
1986 (FTTA), to move the fruits of their government-funded research into further
development and use by states or the private sector acting as 'technology partners." The
partner will use the technology to clean up environmental problems in return for sharing
with EPA the information useful for research.
RCB pioneered EPA's Federal Technology Transfer Program with presentations featuring
the three technologies described above. These offerings were publicized in national
scientific periodicals, through mailings, and at conferences. Following selection of the
best proposals, EPA is entering into FTTA cooperative agreements with industry for each
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The Mobile Carbon Regeneration System

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of these systems. This marks the beginning of an EPA initiative to quickly move RCB
research into practical applications. This technology transfer will benefit the American
public, the hazardous waste industry, and the environment.
Support of Scientific Research on
Environmental Problems
In addition to assessing the technical capabilities and costs of systems to remedy
environmental problems, RCB projects provide technical assistance to other scientists and
engineers.
Recognizing the complexity of its various research programs, EPA's Risk Reduction
Engineering Laboratory (RREL) has expanded computerized access to its technical
information. RCB has designed an RREL Computerized On-Line Information System
(COLIS) for use by EPA's researchers and by the technical community. The COLIS
System is available 24 hours a day, free of charge, to any personal computer or
microcomputer communicating by modem. User-friendly menus aid the researcher in
finding corrective action information from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank, SITE
Demonstration, and other RREL programs.
RCB also is establishing valuable precedents for science and industry by obtaining
permits for mobile treatment technologies such as the systems developed by the Edison
Branch.
Synthetic Soil Matrix
EPA researchers analyzed soil at several Superfund sites in order to develop a formula
for soil commonly found at a Superfund site.
The Synthetic Soil Matrix (SSM) Program can provide scientists at the RCB facility or
other approved facilities with a clean soil blend that matches real soil at typical waste sites.
Chemicals can, if needed, be added to the soil in four standard blends, or in customized
blends, to mimic hazardous waste. The advantages of using this material in evaluations
of treatment technologies are significant: it is not considered a hazardous waste (and
thus does not require elaborate permits), and its exact (thoroughly blended)
characteristics are a known quantity for measuring treatment success.
SSM provides RCB researchers and other scientists with an excellent material on which
to accurately test technologies.
The SITE Program
The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program has tested and
evaluated innovative technologies at Superfund sites around the nation. Edison scientists
have supervised many of these evaluations since SITE'S inception in 1987. EPA has
reported the results on such technologies as infrared incineration,
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SITE Demonstration:
In Situ Stabilization/Solidification Technology
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stabilization/solidification, in situ soil vacuum extraction, and (sediment) solvent extraction.
These reports give solid technical data on the capabilities of individual treatments and cost
projections for their application at similar sites.
Ongoing Research
RCB has been tasked by RREL with furthering the state-of-the-art in specific areas:
solvent extraction and ultrasonic applications for the treatment of hazardous waste. It will
continue the research begun in these areas. It will emphasize volume reduction and other
beneficial extraction methods for the treatment of contaminated soils, sludges and
sediments.
Future studies will continue the investigation of contaminant bonding to fine soil particles.
RCB seeks a process to extract the contaminants from such particles. It will then
design/construct appropriate pilot-scale apparatus and test the process for its
effectiveness and cost. This will fill a troublesome gap in soil treatment technology.
Treatability studies will be run in accordance with the recent State of New Jersey
Treatability Ruling. SSM or other small quantities of safely-transported waste can be
tested with total control at RCB laboratories. This will aid EPA's SITE (Superfund) and
Contaminated Soil and Debris (non-Superfund) Programs by eliminating the costly and
time-consuming transportation of pilot-scale equipment to various sites.
In general, each of these government-sponsored activities includes, not only the
development of treatment methods and prototype equipment, but also the publication of
reports, technical papers, presentations, computer data, videotapes and other types of
technology transfer media. This information is made available to the general public.as well
as the companies that can put it to use at contaminated waste sites.
Finally, in its mission to stimulate the development and application of innovative
treatments, EPA's Office of Research and Development is proposing an Environmental
Technology and Engineering (E-TEC) Facility in Edison.
This totally controlled and fully permitted scientific facility would complement work being
done at other national research centers such as the Incineration Research Facility in
Arkansas, the Center Hill and Test & Evaluation Research Facilities in Ohio, and the SITE
field demonstrations nationwide.
E-TEC's specialized testing areas will accommodate laboratory tests, bench-scale
experiments, or full-scale pilot-plants to test environmental treatments. This new facility,
when fully operational, will be the final link in a technology chain that will clean up
contamination in American land, sea and air. E-TEC's operation will accelerate the
commercialization of urgently needed alternatives to traditional disposal. E-TEC could be
operational as early as 1994.
The Releases Control Branch has an enviable history of developing safe, useful
technologies. Perhaps even more important have been its efforts in bringing these
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methods to the attention of emergency responders, cleanup contractors, and the public.
All these efforts emphasize the safe, effective control, removal, and destruction of
hazardous waste from spills and abandoned sites.
The Proposed E-TEC Facility
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The Underground Storage Tank Test Apparatus

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DETECTING AND CLEANING UP LEAKS FROM
UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS -
Between 2 and 3.5 million underground storage tanks containing oil products lie buried
across the country -- with an estimated 100,000 to 350,000 currently leaking. EPA has
long been concerned with protecting the nation's groundwater from chemicals that leak
from underground storage tanks. More than half the American people get their drinking
water from underground. RCB is working on underground storage tank (UST) leak
prevention, leak detection, and site cleanup.
Leak Prevention
The Edison researchers have studied ways to prevent leaks. Their work on tank
inspection, cleaning, and closure have led to better EPA regulations. To comply with
these rules, many states are requiring more frequent tests of tank wall strength, the
presence of corrosion, the quality of lining material, and the suitability of cleaning
techniques.
Leak Detection
The Underground Storage Tank Test Apparatus, built at EPA's Edison facility, has tested
many of the most common ways of finding leaks in underground tanks. The UST Test
Apparatus was built to give researchers control over the most important factors that affect
volumetric leak detection methods. With it, one can simulate tank leaks, changes of tank
pressure, variations of contents' temperature and other conditions in both a fiberglass or
a steel tank. They can also match underground pipeline leak conditions. With accurate
knowledge of such conditions (created by the scientists themselves), the program can test
methods used to detect leaks in real underground pipes and tanks.
Using this Test Apparatus, RCB ran an intensive series of tests on 25 methods for
finding leaks in motor fuel tanks. The results of these tests provided the technical basis
for part of the 1988 Federal Regulations.
The EPA's Federal Technology Transfer Act Program recently requested proposals
from commercial entities who would like to further improve and use the UST Test
Apparatus as a "technology partner."
Cleanup of UST Leaks
Two major problems are found when cleaning up releases from underground tanks:
preventing the spread of leaking fluids and correcting the environmental damage that has
already occurred.
The Edison UST group has developed a research program to better determine site
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conditions prior to cleanup; to more quickly design and install cleanup equipment; to finish
site cleanup more speedily by using better removal methods; and to improve ways to
measure the progress of the cleanup.
Two innovative cleanup technologies under study by Edison's RCB are soil vapor
extraction and low temperature thermal desorption. They are being tested to find out how
well they work, to improve them, and to get better information on costs.
An important part of all this research is getting the information to the public and to the
people who need to use it. In addition to writing the usual reports, RCB has created an
UST Case History File. This file is part of the EPA's Computerized On-Line Information
System (COLIS), described earlier. RCB has also created an UST State Management
System to help governments and industry handle the information needed to run their UST
programs more easily and effectively.
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CLEANING UP OIL SPILLS THAT THREATEN OUR
WATERWAYS WITH HELP FROM OHMSETT --
EPA's Oil Spill Research and Development Program
This innovative program was a major force in international efforts to combat oil spills
during the 1970's and 1980's. EPA scientists and engineers in Edison led a broad effort
with the following goals:
to detect and prevent oil spills,
to evaluate commercially-available spill cleanup equipment,
to develop new equipment, and
to encourage the oil industry to adopt both better prevention systems and
better methods for cleaning up spills.
Challenges
A series of major spills from oil tanker groundings and offshore oil well accidents
provided focus for the early Oil Spill Program. The 1970's also brought an onslaught of
plans for deep water ports in the Gulf of Mexico and new oil exploration areas (off the
environmentally sensitive shores of California, Alaska, and the Northeastern United
States).
The 600-Foot Ocean
EPA researchers in Edison placed high priority on creating an environmentally safe place
to do oil spill research, development, testing, and evaluation. In 1974, they completed
OHMSETT, a 670-foot-long test tank that could simulate waves and currents. There they
could test "large oil spills" without damaging the environment.
OHMSETT became an international resource for developing and improving oil booms,
skimmers, sensors, specialized oil treatment chemicals, and other spill-response tools.
Foreign governments and companies from Canada, the Soviet Union, the United
Kingdom, France, and numerous other countries brought projects to OHMSETT. They
also shared their experiences with EPA researchers.
Over its 12 years of operation, OHMSETT was the location for thousands of tests
conducted on hundreds of oil spill response methods. Engineers and technicians at the
facility developed new approaches to coping with the unique problems of cleaning up
spilled oil in severe weather offshore, in surging high-current rivers, and in the cold and
remote arctic.
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The OHMSETT Interagency Technical Committee
OHMSETT's international importance led to the formation of a special group to guide its
work. The EPA, the Coast Guard, the Minerals Management Service, the Navy, and
Environment Canada combined funds and technical expertise in creating the OHMSETT
Interagency Technical Committee (OITC).
The formation of the OITC led to a long period of close, highly-productive cooperation -
- unusual among government agencies. The continuing participation of Environment
Canada underscored the international importance of the OHMSETT facility and EPA's
program there.
One direct effect of the OITC was a highly efficient use of scarce government oil-spill
research funds. By pooling resources, the committee was able to complete a large
number of projects that otherwise could not have been funded. By drawing researchers
from member agencies into close cooperation, the committee avoided duplication and
"reinventing the wheel."
Crime-Fighting Tools: Oil Detection and
Spill Fingerprinting Techniques
EPA needed enforcement tools to maintain the thrust of environmental concern in the
oil industry that OHMSETT research had initiated. Scientists in Edison expanded their
research on the nature of oil and its behavior in spills. They then used their findings to
develop detection methods for low concentrations of oil in water. They could "fingerprint"
a spill.
These new analytical methods became law-enforcement tools. The laboratory could now
identify "mystery spillers" ~ tanker and other ship operators who illegally spill oil or pump
overboard large quantities of oil-laden bilge water - often at night. In collaboration with
Coast Guard researchers developing similar techniques, EPA scientists developed
methods that won many court cases. These methods provided strong scientific evidence
to connect the responsible criminals with their spilled oil.
OHMSETT Achievements
The successes of the EPA Oil Spill Research Program, conducted by EPA personnel at
Edison, have been recorded over the years in numerous scientific and engineering
publications. These achievements are embodied in the many types of new equipment
used by the oil spill response industry. They have supported the development of new
regulations, contingency plans (both national and international) for oil spill response, and
informal technology transfer to industry.
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Storm
irflow

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PREVENTING WATER POLLUTION FROM
CONTAMINATED STORMWATER ~
Early government research on water pollution revealed that many pollutants were
coming, not only from traditional sources, but also from untreated sewer overflows.
Combined sewers or separate storm sewers were discharging pollution directly into open
streams and other bodies of water without any prior treatment.
Responding to this problem in 1964, the Storm and Combined Sewer Pollution Control
Program (SCSP) began to investigate the problems. Its goal has been the development
of methods for controlling pollution from urban stormwater discharges, combined sewer
overflows, and excessive infiltration/inflow.
To date, the SCSP Program has completed more than 300 projects. It has published
reports on these projects, documentation on others in progress, and 100 scientific articles
as well. Over 100 scientific conferences in the United States and abroad have featured
presentations by SCSP experts, such as Edison's Richard Field.
The Program has investigated such diverse environmental improvements as stormwater
management models, erosion control, infiltration/inflow control, combined sewer overflow
and stormwater treatments, and safe disposal methods for sludge and solid residue. Its
wide-ranging work is best represented by some selected projects, described below.
Cost Reductions through Coordination of
Wet and Dry Free Flow Collection Facilities
SCSP research discovered that government could realize significant cost reductions
by coordinating the multi-purpose flow collections used for wet and dry weather, flow and
erosion controls, treatment facilities and stormwater storage areas.
Proper sizing of storage facilities would reduce the cost of stormwater treatment by
balancing the overlapping processes. Integrating pollution, flood, and erosion controls
would further lower costs. Both street-cleaning and sewer-flushing improve urban runoff
quality and reduced treatment expense.
Using SCSP findings, government officials on the federal, state, and local level have set
wet-weather flow treatment standards. These requirements have reduced national and
international pollution from combined sewer overflow and stormwater.
Assessment of Impacts on Receiving Waters from
Urban Runoff
SCSP conducted an international research program which investigated the impact of
urban runoff on receiving water (streams, lakes, etc.). To achieve pollution abatement
and raise water quality, it is necessary to understand how these bodies of water are
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being contaminated. It is also essential to analyze the types of pollutants that are
emptying into these waters.
SCSF proved that both combined sewer overflow and stormwater are pollution culprits.
As a result, countermeasure campaigns and important environmental legislation have
begun working toward cleaner domestic and international waters.
EPA Development of the Swirl Regulator/Separator
The SCSP developed the "dual functioning swirl combined sewer overflow
regulator/solid-liquid separator."
This hardware has a long, complex name, but it is eminently simple in its design. It
regulates and swirls water fed into it without the use of any moving parts or outside
source of power. It can remove up to 50% of the suspended solids in combined or
separate sewer overflow. It does this by concentrating these solids in a small part of the
total solution. This reduced volume makes it possible to treat sewage solids in
conventional wastewater treatment facilities. This revolutionary, self-sufficient equipment
thus serves a dual purpose -- treatment and regulation of the flow.
Development of Stormwater Monitoring Technology
Accurate flow measurement is essential for the planning, design, control, evaluation,
and regulatory limit enforcement of stormwater flows. The conventional flow meters,
developed before SCSP, only measure steady-state, non-storm flows.
An innovative SCSP program set new standards and developed non-intrusive,
electromagnetic, ultrasound, and passive sound meters for measuring unsteady flows.
In addition, a prototype sampler makes it possible to capture representative solids from
storm flow. It became a standard against which existing sampling devices would be
evaluated. This EPA accomplishment contributed to the overall improvement of sampling
devices manufactured by the entire (international) industry.
Devising Storm Water Management Models
The SCSP fostered research and development that produced simplified, detailed, and
operational models that forecast complex responses to variable runoff phenomenon.
Four levels of models have addressed many important areas:
area-wide planning and cost estimation,
preliminary gauging of facilities' size requirements,
flow time calculations and routing to ensure continuous analyses of the
impact on receiving water, and
complete and individualized storm event forecasting of both flow rate and
pollution.
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The implementation worldwide of these models has significantly aided experts in making
decisions on controls for storm events.
Development and Demonstration of High-Rate
Treatment Technology
Since stormwater flow is relatively intense and intermittent, high-rate treatment methods
have been developed under SCSP's direction. These methods -- encompassing physical
and chemical solutions -- have helped make pollution abatement more economical. They
include micro and fine mesh screening, dissolved air flotation, swirl separators, degritters,
disinfectors (using chlorine dioxide, ozonation, and ultraviolet light), activated carbon
adsorption, high-gradient magnetic separation, and so forth.
Roadway Deicing through Chemical Control
Prior to SCSP's 1971 report, only limited research had been dedicated to the hazardous
effects of highway deicing. Early studies searched for alternatives to deicing with salt.
The Program tried to measure the environmental damages caused by the yearly winter
application. It addressed major problems, such as sloppy storage practices and over-
application, in new manuals of practice. These SCSP publications were so significant
that the Federal Highway Administration reprinted them for its own distribution.
Subsequent SCSP reports on deicing examined its effects on water supplies, health,
vegetation, highway structures, vehicles, and utilities. Results showed that the annual,
national cost of salt-related damage exceeds 7 billion dollars. It does the most serious
long-term damage in the pollution of water supplies (and the degradation of health which
it may cause). The Program also researched alternative substances that could replace
road salt in environmentally sensitive areas.
Current and Future Development of Combined Sewer
Overflow and Stormwater Technology
In general, the investigating scientist can find significant toxics, bacteria, suspended
solids, and visual matter in combined sewer overflow and stormwater. Some 54 million
persons live within the more than 3 million acres served by combined sewer systems.
Due in part to SCSP efforts, Congress has acknowledged the problem of stormwater
pollution. A 1987 amendment to the Clean Water Act requires the regulation of
stormwater discharges through a program of permits, guidelines, and
management/treatment regulations. In 1990, EPA published national guidance for
combined sewer overflow control and permitting.
Currently, the SCSP continues to communicate its past findings to communities faced
with the challenges of combatting urban wet-weather-induced pollution. It has begun new
studies addressing the wide range of problems associated with stormwater pollution. Two
of the Program's ongoing projects cover the identification, treatment, and prevention of
toxic and hazardous contaminants in urban wet-weather flows; and the detection and
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control of pollution in separate storm sewers originating from illegal sanitary and industrial
cross-connections.
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IMPROVING PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL PERSONNEL -
The RCB Personnel Protection Technology Research Program has focused on
increasing the safety and efficiency of EPA employees - and other workers who handle
hazardous materials. This goal requires the development, evaluation, and improvement
of many items such as chemical-protective clothing and equipment. RCB has also
searched for methods that will predict the effectiveness of chemical protective clothing.
These methods have assisted EPA in formulating better procedures for performing
hazardous tasks.
The principal achievements of the RCB Personnel Protection Program lie in three areas:
<
Guidance for selecting polymer gloves as protection against pesticide
exposure,
A field kit for rapid, on-site testing and selection of clothing resistant to
unknown or mixed chemicals, and
Evaluation, in the field, of personal coolers and vital signs monitors (both
used to protect the health and safety of hazardous site workers).
Development of Guidance for Glove Selection
Polymer gloves were originally recommended for protection against chemical exposure.
However -- in the late 1970's - researchers found that industrial solvents could permeate
this material while leaving the glove physically intact. They also discovered that different
types of polymer gloves varied in their resistance to chemical permeation. These findings
motivated EPA to reassess protective glove selection and use.
EPA plays a key regulatory and training role in the safe handling and use of pesticides.
Edison's RCB was selected by EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs to measure the
resistance to permeation of a broad range of polymer gloves. They studied glove
permeation by active pesticide ingredients and carrier solvents.
At the start of this project, the methods for collecting permeating substances depended
on either the volatile or water soluble nature of the chemical. But the active ingredients
in pesticides have both low volatility and low water solubility. Therefore, RCB first had to
find a new way of collecting the active ingredients and the solvents that would permeate
the gloves.
RCB's investigation found a thin silicone sheet that could be used to collect the
permeating substances. EPA presented their discovery to the Protective Clothing
Committee of the American Society for Testing and Materials, an organization that seeks
to improve test methods.
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Workers Using Protective Clothina and Equipment

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This method subsequently provided the means to measure permeation in a broad range
of glove formulations - with an equally broad range of pesticides. Based on the data
collected, RCB was able to rank various glove materials according to their resistance
against pesticide permeation. Researchers were also able to determine the length of time
that the gloves could be used without permeation. Of particular interest was the resistance
of natural rubber. Prior to these tests, it was widely recommended for pesticide users'
gloves. Yet, this material performed quite poorly in the Edison resistance tests.
RCB presented their data on pesticide permeation to EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs
(OPP). OPP will use it to develop guidance on improved glove selection for agricultural
workers. They will update national training aids for the certification of pesticide handlers
to include this latest information. They have produced a motivational videotape that will,
when released, persuade workers to use the proper protective clothing and equipment.
By providing better information to pesticide users, EPA's Edison facility will help to reduce
chronic exposure among agricultural workers.
The new test method for measuring pesticide permeation, developed by RCB, will also
prove valuable. It will pave the way for further investigations of resistance to permeation
with new glove materials and pesticides.
A Field Kit for Rapid Selection of
Chemical-Resistant Clothing
EPA employees and contractors responding to emergency spills or working at
hazardous waste sites wear chemical protective clothing. The type, or level, of protective
clothing depends on the type of hazards present.
Commercial manufacturers distribute protective clothing fabricated from a wide variety
of polymers. Managers responsible for worker protection are very interested in the
effectiveness of these materials as barriers to exposure. Such clothing must provide
protection on-site against chemicals and mixtures of either known or unknown
composition.
Test results on chemically resistant materials are available for only a small fraction of the
chemical combinations in the today's world. In addition, most of the data generated apply
only to unmixed chemicals.
Workers on a site may find complex mixtures of chemical materials. The likelihood of
finding data on the exact chemical mixture discovered there is very small. Health and
Safety Managers need a field test method that will rapidly determine whether their
available protective clothing and equipment supply a safe barrier to exposure.
To meet this need RCB developed a permeation cup test. It is an easy-to-use, self-
contained, durable kit for use in the field. RCB has tested this kit at several field sites.
It is now being commerciaily produced by two companies.
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A Field Test Kit for Rapid Selection of Chemical-Resistant Clothing
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Evaluation of Personal Coolers and
Vital Signs Monitors
All workers in contaminated zones of Superfund sites must wear protective clothing.
These EPA and contractor employees perform much manual and physically demanding
labor. Protective clothing interferes with the physiological mechanisms that maintain safe
oody temperature. A worker can suffer heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
There are several ways to reduce the risk of heat stress:
Modifying work practices,
Reducing the level of protective clothing required,
Monitoring workers' vital signs with instruments, and
Using personal coolers.
Hazardous waste workers need information on the trade-offs among their choices of
arotective clothing and equipment in planning field work.
RCB developed a detailed protocol for avoiding heat stress. Its scientists studied field
jxcavation and recommended partial mechanization to reduce worker potential for heat
stress. The suggested method, when implemented, significantly reduced the level of effort
equired to perform the task. It also improved excavation efficiency. At this site, RCB
jerformed an evaluation of several vital signs monitors and personal cooling devices. The
esulting recommendations lowered worker risk of heat stress at the test site, and
Tiproved operations efficiency -- particularly during hot weather conditions.
RCB Achievements in Personnel Protection
In support of EPA's operational and regulatory programs, RCB researchers have
jentified important needs in personnel protection. Through research contracts,
:ooperative agreements, interagency proposals, and in-house projects, they have begun
ingoing work in the following:
Measurement of protective clothing and equipment performance with
laboratory experiments and field tests;
Preparation of EPA guidance regarding the selection and use of protective
clothing and equipment;
Evaluation, development, and verification of methods that predict protective
clothing performance under varying scenarios;
Discovery of methods for testing the effectiveness of personnel protection
clothing and equipment;
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Analyses of the cost/benefit considerations for personn Section
alternative;
This pi ogram will continue to generate results that will improve the .. Jue . oientific
literature, the clothing and equipment employed by the industry, the jrotc st guide
health and safety management, and the safety of the worker in th; -.eld.
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REMOVING HAZARDS THAT RESULT FROM CHEMICAL
SPILLS ~
Among the early products of research in Edison by RREL and its predecessors are three
unique units:
The Mobile Physical/Chemical Treatment System,
The Mobile Chemical Laboratory, and
The Acoustic Emission-Based Device for Assessing Lagoon Stability,
The Mobile Physical/Chemical Treatment System
This trailer-mounted unit demonstrated a portable physical/chemical wastewater
decontamination system. It would accomplish this feat on-site, at moderately-sized
hazardous material release sites. The men who constructed it had no pre-existing name
for this innovative equipment. Because it was painted a strong environmentally-
encouraging blue and because it was the first mobile mechanism to do this work, they
called it the "Blue Magoo."
Prior to this development, no technology was available for on-site water treatment. The
project cost EPA $300,000. To date, commercial enterprises have produced at least 32
units which are operating in the field, applying the technology discovered in this project.
They perform at major spill and waste site cleanup projects around the country. EPA
estimates that more than 50 contractors have used them on jobs netting $1-2 million a
year. Cleanups that were previously considered impossible, are now routinely performed.
The Mobile Chemical Laboratory
To provide support for emergency responses to spills of oil and hazardous materials and
to abandoned waste chemical damping, EPA at Edison developed their Mobile Chemical
Laboratory. The "Mobile Lab" was specifically designed to provide on-site analytical
services in remote field locations during emergency response operations. The mobility
of the Laboratory eliminates long lead time requirements associated with the transport of
environmental samples to distant laboratory facilities. Immediately available analysis in the
field can support urgent decisions regarding cleanup efforts. It can also improve
monitoring of cleanup efficiency.
RREL equipped this 35-foot trailer with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
that could ensure accurate test results. With complete laboratory apparatus, it provides
optimum analytical services and assures an analysis capability for virtually all organic and
inorganic hazardous substances (e.g., pesticides, PCBs, heavy metals).
This completely self-sufficient Laboratory contains a broad range of specialized
instruments (e.g., a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, gas chromatographs
equipped with flame ionization and electron capture detectors, fluorescence
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The Mobile Physical/Chemical Treatment System

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spectrometers, an emission spectrograph, and a total organic carbon analyzer).
The Mobile Lab can communicate with a Central Laboratory by telephone and a
facsimiie machine. Utility support is provided by a 15-kilowatt electric generator and
connections for running water. Safety considerations necessitate the inclusion of a fume
hood, vented solvent locker, explosion-proof refrigerator, safety shower, eye wash, fire
alarm, fire extinguishers, a vented glove box, full-face respirators, self-contained breathing
apparatus, and Geiger counters.
Since August 1977, the Mobile Chemical Laboratory has been successfully used to
accomplish several thousand analyses in a variety of emergency response episodes.
Examples include the analysis of pentachlorophenol (PCP) at a groundwater
contamination incident caused by sub-surface injection of industrial wastes at Haverford,
PA; the analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in run-off waters from illegal and
abandoned industrial waste damping at Dittmer, MO and Oswego, NY; the analysis of
highly toxic fluorescing material in a city water supply contaminated by an industrial waste
disposal at Kernersville, NC; analyses for oil, phenols, hexachlorocyclohexane,
dichlorobenzene, dichlorotoluene, and various pesticides (e.g., aldrin, dieldrin, endrin,
heptachlor) at Chattanooga, TN and the Love Canal site in Niagara Falls, NY; analyses
for PCBs in 40,000 drums of industrial wastes at an abandoned chemical waste disposal
facility in Elizabeth, NJ; and analyses for chlorobenzenes and total organic carbon in
chemical wastes dumped into abandoned coal mines at Pittston, PA.
The Acoustic Emission-Based Device for
Assessing Lagoon Stability
EPA recognized the need for early warning of earthen dam failures which might threaten
release of hazardous wastes. Advance warning of such weaknesses would allow repairs
to prevent dam failure. EPA's Edison scientists developed an acoustic emission-based
technique to provide this important early warning.
After constructing this device, EPA demonstrated it at 20 waste sites across the country.
They also promoted commercial development of the technology through extensive
publications and presentations at conferences.
Based on this EPA accomplishment, U.S. companies are employing similar packaged
systems for assessing impound stability. More than 60 chemical, petrochemical, and
petroleum businesses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Denmark, Sweden, and Japan are using this acoustic emission-based technology.
This unique type of technological development for emergency response led the way for
future research in other areas at EPA's site in Edison.
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The Mobile Chemical Laboratory
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BEYOND 20 YEARS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS
IN RESEARCH AT EDISON, NEW JERSEY -
Since the small laboratory was first created in 1969, EPA's facility in Edison, New Jersey
has joined with EPA researchers across the nation in the struggle to clean up and
preserve the American environment.
But RREL's Edison researchers are not resting on 20 years of laurels. They continue
to forge ahead to support EPA's mission. In 1990, through the newly formed START
Program, these same researchers began providing high-tech assistance directly to EPA
managers who are cleaning up the most complex hazardous waste sites. And their
proposed E-TEC facility will provide a safer, more efficient place in which EPA can find
better ways to clean up waste problems - in New Jersey and across the United States.
To learn more about RREL research programs at Edison or how to participate in its
research efforts, please contact:
Jack Farlow
Chief, Releases Control Branch
Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2890 Woodbridge Avenue (MS-104)
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
Telephone: (908) 321-6635 or (FTS) 340-6635
or
Francine Everson
Technical Information Specialist
Technical Information Exchange
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2890 Woodbridge Avenue (MS-923)
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
Telephone: (908) 906-6872 or (FTS) 340-6872
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