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Groundwater Cleanup

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Contaminated groundwater is a cleanup problem at most Superfund sites, virtually all sites with leaking underground storage tanks, and many sites designated for cleanup under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). It is now known that remediation efforts are taking much longer than originally anticipated. Operation and maintenance costs are substantial and conventional remedies may not be able to achieve cleanup objectives in reasonable time frames or at all, particularly for contaminants that are newly found to pose risks at concentrations once deemed acceptable.

Groundwater research in the Land Research Program (LRP) in EPA’s Office of Research and Development is driven by science and technology questions related to characterizing the contamination and developing cost-effective and efficient remedial options. Research is being conducted to address problematic issues related to contaminated groundwater:

The LRP is preparing summaries and evaluations of the state of the science to determine the impact of each research area with respect to the long-term stewardship of hazardous waste sites.

Inorganic Species

Increasingly, inorganic contamination of groundwater resources from arsenic, chromium, perchlorate, and radionuclides is recognized as a significant issue. Sources include large U.S. Department of Energy and mining mega sites as well as industrial and naturally occurring sources such as arsenic. Remediation of inorganic plumes in groundwater follows a dual track of assessing the potential effectiveness of two techniques:

The LRP’s remediation research builds on the successful development of these approaches for organic contaminants by applying them to inorganic contaminants. Because metals can’t be destroyed, the mechanisms of immobilization are critical to the long-term performance of these approaches.

MNA research focuses on identifying the attenuation mechanisms and the anticipated stability of the immobilized metals under anticipated geochemical conditions. One of the field studies will test the accuracy of the recently completed, cross-office framework for how to evaluate the applicability of an MNA remedy for a specific site.

Research on PRBs will provide two cases of PRB performance in the near-term. Additional research will evaluate the long-term performance and efficiency of PRBs and extend the range of metals that can be addressed with this technology.

Complex hydrogeology impedes the evaluation and remediation of contaminants at sites; additional guidance on effective options for these sites will be provided. Regional experience and research are increasingly identifying the zone of ground water discharge to surface water to be the site of complex interactions. While past research addressed this as it was encountered in field studies, planned research will address the groundwater–surface water interaction (GSI) zone more systematically.

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Fuel components, including oxygenates

Research by the LRP on releases from leaking underground fuel storage tanks (LUSTs) will include oxygenates that represent a characterization and remediation challenge in themselves as well as affecting the behavior and treatment of hydrocarbon fuel components. Fate and transport studies will lead to improved modeling capability that predicts plume behavior and the effectiveness of remedial alternatives. Development will continue on a set of online calculators and a modeling system intended to be used by states in assessing the large number of LUST corrective action sites.

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