![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081106042201im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
2004 Progress Report: Research Needs in the EPA Regions Covered by the Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments
EPA Grant Number: R828771C014Subproject: this is subproject number 014 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R828771
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: HSRC (2001) - Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments
Center Director: Bouwer, Edward J.
Title: Research Needs in the EPA Regions Covered by the Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments
Investigators: Oguntimein, G. B. , Chen, Guangming , Williams, Sedley
Institution: Morgan State University
EPA Project Officer: Lasat, Mitch
Project Period: October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2007
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004
RFA: Hazardous Substance Research Centers - HSRC (2001)
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation
Description:
Objective:The activities of humans over the years have impacted the environment and are of major concern to governments and communities. The activities of industries also have resulted in the generation of hazardous wastes, which have impacted many communities across the United States, especially in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont); Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); and Region 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia). The objectives of this project are to: (1) identify the research needs in EPA Regions 1, 2, and 3 through visits and interviews with EPA officials as well as state Department of Environment officials, environmental industries and other stakeholders; and (2) produce an assessment report on these research needs with the rankings of importance. This report would identify possible hazardous waste sites/Superfund brownfield sites in the three EPA Regions as well as the types of contaminants at the sites and communities impacted by the hazardous wastes, which the center researchers could use for case studies.
Figure 1. Map of EPA Regions
Progress Summary:To achieve these objectives, we: (1) contacted EPA officials in the regional offices to identify specific research needs; (2) conducted a literature search to identify specific needs in these Regions; (3) attended environment-related conferences, namely the EPA Science Forum held in Washington, DC, June 1-3, 2004, and the 2004 Brownfield Conference in Saint Louis, Missouri, September 20-22, 2004; (4) designed survey forms to gather information from environmental stakeholders; and (5) developed appropriate communications links through visits and telephone calls to develop urban environmental initiatives and new interests.
Although the grant started in October 2003, this project actually started in late June 2004.
Identified Research Needs:
Region 1
- Waste containment issues: long-term performance and management of landfills caps. The percolation through landfill caps is regarded as a significant contributor to the generation of leachates.
- Research characterizing brownfields sites as well as cost-effective technologies for cleaning up “typical” brownfield sites.
- Performance monitoring and site characterization for natural attenuation of certain contaminated sites.
Region 2
- Oxygenates in water (e.g., methyl tertiary butyl ether [MTBE], of special concern because of its carcinogenic effects).
- Human health effects: operation of mass military reservations yield contaminants associated with explosives that are hazardous (e.g., Pb).
Region 3
- Oxygenates in water (e.g., MTBE, of special concern because of its carcinogenic effects).
- Human health effects: operation of mass military reservations yield contaminants associated with explosives that are hazardous (e.g., Pb).
- Tools, instruments, and knowledge for rapid characterization of Brownfields: the problem of MBTE seems to resonate in all the regions covered.
During the EPA Science Forum, the keynote speeches given by EPA administrators and government representatives, along with a large number of posters, focused on the emerging new technologies to monitor and correct pollution problems in air, water, and soil. Attendance at the Brownfields conferences enabled us to establish professional contacts with a number of managers and administrators from EPA Regions 1, 2, and 3.
Future Activities:We intend to send out the survey forms soon and will follow up with phone calls to regional EPA officials and the states’ environmental department officials. A 1-day workshop is being planned in one of the EPA regional headquarters during which researchers from the Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments and EPA officials will make presentations on hazardous substances in urban environment and research needs. Attendance to future EPA conferences and visits to sites or meetings with EPA regional officers and government officials have been planned and will take place soon.
Supplemental Keywords:toxics, exposure, hazardous substances, assessment,
cleanup, risk communication, Brownfields, EPA Region 1, EPA Region 2, EPA Region
3, waste containment,
,
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Geographic Area, Scientific Discipline, Waste, RFA, Arsenic, Brownfields, Ecological Risk Assessment, Hazardous Waste, Environmental Engineering, EPA Region, Environmental Chemistry, Hazardous, heavy metals, airborne urban contaminants, brownfield sites, contaminated waste sites, environmental hazards, Region 3, Region 1 , hazardous waste disposal, hazardous waste management, Region 2, hazardous waste characterization, urban waste management, hazardous waste treatment, chemical releases
Relevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract
2005 Progress Report
Final Report
Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R828771 HSRC (2001) - Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments
Subprojects under this Center:
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R828771C001 Co-Contaminant Effects on Risk Assessment and Remediation Activities Involving Urban Sediments and Soils: Phase II
R828771C002 The Fate and Potential Bioavailability of Airborne Urban
Contaminants
R828771C003 Geochemistry, Biochemistry, and Surface/Groundwater Interactions
for As, Cr, Ni, Zn, and Cd with Applications to Contaminated Waterfronts
R828771C004 Large Eddy Simulation of Dispersion in Urban Areas
R828771C005 Speciation of chromium in environmental media using capillary
electrophoresis with multiple wavlength UV/visible detection
R828771C006 Zero-Valent Metal Treatment of Halogenated Vapor-Phase Contaminants in SVE Offgas
R828771C007 The Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments (CHSUE) Outreach Program
R828771C008 New Jersey Institute of Technology Outreach Program for EPA Region II
R828771C009 Urban Environmental Issues: Hartford Technology Transfer and Outreach
R828771C010 University of Maryland Outreach Component
R828771C011 Environmental Assessment and GIS System Development of Brownfield Sites in Baltimore
R828771C012 Solubilization of Particulate-Bound Ni(II) and Zn(II)
R828771C013 Seasonal Controls of Arsenic Transport Across the Groundwater-Surface Water Interface at a Closed Landfill Site
R828771C014 Research Needs in the EPA Regions Covered by the Center for Hazardous Substances in Urban Environments
R828771C015 Transport of Hazardous Substances Between Brownfields and the Surrounding Urban Atmosphere