UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
August 18, 2003
EPA-SAB-EEC-CON-03-006
OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
Honorable Marianne Lament Horinko
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Subject: Improving Leach Testing of Waste: An EPA Science Advisory
Board Notification of a Consultation
Dear Ms. Horinko:
The Environmental Engineering Committee of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)
met on June 17-18, 2003 to conduct a consultation with staff and managers from the
Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste and the Office of Research and
Development, on improvement of waste material leaching evaluation in waste management
situations where the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) is not required by
regulation. Alternatives to the TCLP are of particular interest to EPA in contaminated site
remediation, waste material reuse, and hazardous waste delisting situations.
EPA has initiated internal research, and supported external research, to work toward a
more comprehensive assessment framework and set of testing protocols, for evaluation of
leaching potential of waste materials under relevant environmental conditions. Important
conditions include those found in the course of waste disposal and reuse, as well as contaminated
site remediation. This Consultation was designed to consider alternatives to the TCLP that could
improve environmental decision-making, when regulatory programs allow such flexibility.
In the consultation, EPA was primarily interested in SAB's thoughts on the scientific
strengths and potential applicability of a tiered framework for leaching assessment developed by
researchers at Vanderbilt University with partial support from the Office of Solid Waste. EPA
also sought SAB's advice on the direction for long-term research, to develop a better
fundamental understanding of leaching processes for improved tests and predictive models.
Information from the consultation will be used as guidance for the choices EPA will make in
developing and implementing a more comprehensive assessment framework and set of testing
protocols for use in assessing waste leaching in waste material reuse and site remediation
situations.
The SAB has developed the Consultation as a mechanism to advise the Agency on
technical issues that should be considered in the development of regulations, guidelines, or
technical guidance before the Agency has taken a position. A Consultation is conducted under
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the normal requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which include advance notice
of the public meeting in the Federal Register.
As is our customary practice, there will be no formal report from the SAB as a result of
this Consultation, nor do we expect any formal response from the Agency. The discussions at
the meeting along with the meeting minutes constitute the record of this Consultation.
Sincerely,
/Signed/
Dr. David Dzombak, Chair
Leaching Consultation
Environmental Engineering Committee
EPA Science Advisory Board
/Signed/
Dr. Domenico Grasso, Chair
Environmental Engineering Committee
EPA Science Advisory Board
/Signed/
Dr. William Glaze, Chair
EPA Science Advisory Board
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Science Advisory Board
Environmental Engineering Committee
CHAIR
Dr. Domenico Grasso, Rosemary Bradford Hewlett Professor and Chair, Picker Engineering
Program, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Also Member: Executive Committee
SAB MEMBERS
Dr. H. Barry Dellinger, Patrick F. Taylor Chair , Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, LA
Dr. David Dzombak, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,,
Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. James Galloway, Chair , Environmental Sciences Dept, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA
Dr. Michael Kavanaugh, Vice President, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., Emeryville, CA
Dr. Byung Kim, Staff Technical Specialist, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI
Dr. Michael J. McFarland, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Dr. Bruce E. Rittmann, John Evans Professor of Environmental Engineering, Department of
Civil Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Dr. Thomas Theis, Director, Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, SPHW, M/C 673,
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Dr. Valerie Thomas, Research Scientist, Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton
University, Princeton, NJ
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Ms. Kathleen White, Designated Federal Officer, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Science Advisory Board
Executive Committee
CHAIR
Dr. William H. Glaze, Professor , Department of Environmental & Biomolecular Systems ,
OGI School of Science & Engineering, Oregon Health & Science University, Beaverton,
OR
MEMBERS
Dr. Henry Anderson, Chief Medical Officer, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Division of
Public Health, Madison, WI
Also Member: Environmental Health Committee
Dr. Trudy Cameron, Raymond F. Mikesell Professor of Environmental and Resource
Economics, Department of Economics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Also Member: Advisory Council on Clean Air Compliance Analysis
Dr. Maureen L. Cropper, Lead Economist, The World Bank, Washington, DC
Also Member: Environmental Economics Advisory Committee
Dr. Kenneth Cummins, Senior Advisory Scientist, California Cooperative Fishery Research
Unit, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
Dr. Virginia Dale, Corporate Fellow, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
Also Member: Ecological Processes and Effects Committee
Dr. Domenico Grasso, Rosemary Bradford Hewlett Professor and Chair, Picker Engineering
Program, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Also Member: Environmental Engineering Committee
Dr. Linda Greer, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC
Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee
Dr. Philip Hopke, Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemical
Engineering, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee
Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr. Janet A. Johnson, Senior Technical Advisor, MFG, Inc., Fort Collins, CO
Also Member: Radiation Advisory Committee
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Dr. Roger E. Kasperson, Executive Director, Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm,,
Sweden
Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee
Dr. Raymond C. Loehr, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas ,
Austin, TX
Dr. Genevieve Matanoski, Professor , Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD
Also Member: Research Strategies Advisory Committee
Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Head, Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie
Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Dr. Rebecca Parkin, Associate Research Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health,
Public Health and Health Services, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
Also Member: Integrated Human Exposure Committee
Dr. William H. Smith, Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Forest Biology, Yale
University, Center Harbor, NH
Dr. R. Rhodes Trussell, Senior Vice President, MWH-Montgomery Watson Harza, Pasadena,
CA
Also Member: Drinking Water Committee
LIAISONS
Dr. Jerald Schnoor, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University
of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Liaison from the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC)
SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD STAFF
Mr. A. Robert Flaak, Designated Federal Officer
Ms Betty Fortune, Office Assistant
Ms. Diana Pozun, Program Specialist
in
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NOTICE
This report has been written as part of the activities of the EPA Science Advisory Board,
a public advisory group providing extramural scientific information and advice to the
Administrator and other officials of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Board is
structured to provide balanced, expert assessment of scientific matters related to problems facing
the Agency. This report has not been reviewed for approval by the Agency and, hence, the
contents of this report do not necessarily represent the views and policies of the Environmental
Protection Agency, nor of other agencies in the Executive Branch of the Federal government, nor
does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute a recommendation for use.
Distribution and Availability: This EPA Science Advisory Board report is provided to the EPA
Administrator, senior Agency management, appropriate program staff, interested members of the
public, and is posted on the SAB website (www.epa.gov/sab). Information on its availability is
also provided in the SAB's monthly newsletter (Happenings at the Science Advisory Board).
Additional copies and further information are available from the SAB Staff [US EPA Science
Advisory Board (1400A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001; 202-
564-4533].
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