Fall 2003 EPA Combined Technical Forum Meeting -- Fractured Bedrock

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) technical support forums held a joint meeting on contamination of fractured bedrock, in Niagara Falls, New York, October 20-23, 2003. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists from the Toxics Program were asked to give presentations on characterization of contamination in fractured bedrock. The USGS scientists presented information on using conceptual models of fluid flow in fractured rock to guide the characterization of contamination sites, applying borehole geophysical tools to characterize fractured rock, and a case study of a USGS investigation of fractured rock contaminated with landfill leachate. These presentations are part of the Toxics Program efforts to transfer knowledge, approaches, and methodologies to characterization of contaminated fractured rock sites to the regulatory community.

Toxics Program Presentations

• Characterizing Fractured Rock: Hydrogeologic Conceptual Models of Ground-Water Flow and the Influence of Problem Scale, by Allen Shapiro, Abstract, Slides
• Borehole Geophysics for Investigation of Ground-Water Contamination in Fractured Bedrock, by John Williams, Abstract, Slides
• Case Study on Characterization of Ground-Water Contamination in Fractured Bedrock at the University of Connecticut Landfill, by Carole Johnson, Abstract, Slides

More Information

• Introductory Remarks on the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program’s Fractured Rock Investigations, by Herb Buxton, Coordinator, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program (windows media video file, wmv, 6.7 MB)
• Agenda
• About EPA’s Technical Forums

EPA’s Technical Forums

EPA’s Engineering Forum, Ground-Water Forum, and Federal Facilities Forum were formed to improve communications and assist in technical transfer between the EPA’s Regions and Centers. The Forums act as a technical resource and source of information for EPA’s technical staff. They meet semi-annually to discuss technical and policy issues, new technologies, and to network with other Federal agencies such as the USGS.

USGS Information on Fractured Rock

• New Paradigm for Fractured Rock Cleanup
• What Controls the Migration of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Rock?
• Fractured-Rock Aquifers--Understanding an Increasingly Important Source of Water: USGS Fact Sheet FS-112-02
• Characterizing Ground-Water Chemistry and Hydraulic Properties of Fractured-Rock Aquifers Using the Multifunction Bedrock-Aquifer Transportable Testing Tool (BAT3): USGS Fact Sheet FS-075-01
• Geochemical and Microbiological Processes that Affect Migration and Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Sedimentary Rock, Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Research Site, West Trenton, NJ
• Multidisciplinary Characterization of Fluid Flow and Solute Transport in Fractured Rock, Mirror Lake, New Hampshire

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