Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation Perspective

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Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology
Innovation Perspective
Elizabeth Southerland, Ph.D. Director, Assessment
Remediation Division Office of Superfund
Remediation Technology Innovation U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
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Overview

• What is OSRTI?
• Why do we need research and technical support?
• How do we participate in research planning?
• How do we get research and technical support
  results?
• How do we use research and technical support
  results?

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Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology
Innovation
Michael B. Cook, Director Charles Sutfin, Deputy
Director
Resources Management Division
Technology Innovation and Field Services
Division
Assessment and Remediation Division
State, Tribe, Site Identification Branch
Human Resources Branch
Analytical Services Branch
Contracts Management Branch
Community Involvement Outreach Branch
Technology Integration Information Branch
Information Management Branch
Regions 1, 2, 6, 9, 10 Support Branch
Technology Assessment Branch
Regions 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Support Branch
Budget, Planning, Evaluation Branch
Environmental Response Team
Science Policy Branch
11/2/05
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Office of Superfund Remediation Technology
Innovation

• Assessment Remediation
• Oversees investigations and lists sites
• Ensures that cleanup decisions are based on sound
  science
• Addresses long-term stewardship needs

• Technology Innovation Field Services
• Advocates more effective, less costly approaches
• Provides technology market information
• Informs Superfund, RCRA, UST, Brownfields, and
  State programs

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OSRTI Performance Measures

• Measures with targets
• Final site assessment decisions
• Final remedy selected
• Human exposures under control
• Contaminated ground water migration under control
• Construction completions
• Efficiency measure
• Site-specific charging
• Acres/Sites Ready for Reuse

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Need for Research and Technical Support

• Long-term research is needed to help us
• Develop new lab and field-based analysis methods
• Assess risk from emerging contaminants
• Develop new, cost-effective cleanup technologies
• Short-term research is needed to help us
• Better design site characterization methods to
  make use of real time data
• More accurately assess exposure and risk
• Assess the feasibility of innovative technologies
• Assess the effectiveness of cleanup technologies
  long-term stewardship methods
• Technical support is needed to help us
• Apply up-to-date methods and research results to
  site work

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OSRTI/ORD Coordination in Research Planning
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Assessment of Research Needs

• Needs proposed by
• Science Policy Technology Innovation branches
• Regional Superfund Divisions Regional Science
  Council
• Groundwater Engineering Forums
• Contaminated Sediment Technical Advisory Group
• Risk Assessment Forum (Human Health)
• Ecological Risk Assessment Forum
• Needs prioritized by OSRTI
• Regional Research Advisory Groups

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Recipients of Research Results

• Internal
• Project managers and risk assessors
• Site teams and decision-makers
• Other EPA researchers
• External
• Site consultants
• Technology developers
• Other Federal agency researchers
• Wider scientific community

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Making Results Accessible to Project Managers

• Seminars for project managers risk assessors
• Training courses for EPA public
• Participation in National Association of Remedial
  Project Managers meetings
• Fact sheets for RPMs
• Summary reports
• Web postings
• Direct communication with Hazardous Substance
  Technical Liaisons

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How do we USE research results?

• Direct/site support applications
• ORD Technical Support Centers
• Individual site-specific support
• Indirect/multiple site applications
• Technology development (e.g., permeable reactive
  barriers, alternative covers, sediment sampler)
• Guidance development (e.g., Eco-SSLs, sediments)
• Model development/validation (e.g., Pro-UCL,
  EFDC)
• Exposure factors toxicity values (e.g., dermal,
  IRIS)

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Example Research/Site Support LinkMulti-phase
Monitoring at Ruby Gulch Waste Rock Repository

• How to effectively monitor 64-acre waste
  repository?
• Automated monitoring of resistivity, ground
  water, pore-gas, temperature pressure

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Example Research/Site Support LinkPhoto-activate
d Toxicity of PAHs

• Duluth/Superior Harbor
• State-lead coal tar site
• In-situ exposures of fish daphnids to test
  question
• Does UVA radiation from sunlight create
  additional risk?

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Example Research/Site Support LinkIntact
surface sediment sampling

• How to collect undisturbed surface sediment
  samples?
• Laboratory testing of existing samplers
• Design of new/modified sampler to meet
  Superfunds need

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Example Research/Guidance Link Monitored Natural
Recovery of Contaminated Sediment

• Multiple media site studies at Lake Harwell
  Superfund Site
• Collaboration on MNR chapter of Sediment Guidance
• Development of Technical Resource Document for MNR

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ORD Participation on Superfund Review Boards

• National Remedy Review Board
• Reviews all site remedies over 25M
• Support in
• Ground water characterization remediation
  technologies
• Innovative treatment technologies
• Contaminated Sediment Technical Advisory Group
• Cradle-to-grave oversight of large complex
  sediment sites
• Support in
• Fate transport modeling
• PCB chemistry data analysis

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• Both arms of ORD research and technical
  support are critical to informed development of
  innovative technologies and effective
  characterization and cleanup of Superfund sites.