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NRMRL MONTHLY REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 2005
Stephen G. Schmelling, Division Director
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
L&D Landfill, Region 2: During August 16-17, John Wilson
(GWERD) traveled to Cherry Hill, NJ, to attend a briefing
presented to regulatory staff of the State of New Jersey and EPA
Region 2, on plans to inject air into cell 9 of the closed L&D
Landfill in Mount Holly, NJ. The activity is intended to effect in-
situ bioremediation of organic contaminants that are currently
escaping the cell and contaminating ground water. A site visit was
also conducted during the trip. On August 30, review comments
on a remedial action work plan were provided.
(J. Wilson(GWERD)580-436-8534)
Malvern TCE Superfund Site, Region 3: On August 29, Ann
Keeley (GWERD) and Bruce Pivetz (Dynamac) provided RPM
Linda Dietz with a critique of comments by a U.S. EPA oversite
contractor on an accelerated bioremediation pilot test report for the
Malvern TCE Superfund Site in Malvern, PA, as well as a site
consultant's response to those comments. Issues discussed
included the effectiveness of the inoculation of bacteria and
electron donor injection in the degradation of chlorinated ethenes,
microcosm verification study, connections between wells, velocity
calculations, impact or evidence of mole fractionation, and the
importance of obtaining an additional year of data. It was
suggested that the in-situ bioremediation treatment alternative has
the potential to reduce contaminant mass and concentration;
however, there should be a contingency to revert to pump-and-treat
remediation if necessary.
(A. Keeley(GWERD)580-436-8890)
Delaware Site, Region 3: On September 16, Scott Huling
(GWERD) and Bruce Pivetz (Dynamac) provided RPM Hiliary
Thornton with technical review comments on the "Final Report,
Treatability Study: Standard Chlorine of Delaware Site, New
Castle County, Delaware." The report provides the results of a
laboratory treatability study of the chemical oxidation of
chlorobenzenes using Fenton's reagent, persulfate, and
permanganate. The overall conclusions of the report appear to be
valid and useful in that the potential effectiveness of Fenton's
reagent and persulfate was indicated. However, there are instances
in the report and appendices where there are discrepancies or
inconsistencies in the data. It was suggested that these may not
adversely affect the general or broad conclusions of the report, but
the data and information should be carefully scrutinized if used
quantitatively in planning the pilot-scale study.
(S. Huling(GWERD)580-436-8610)
On September 9, Mary Gonsoulin (GWERD) and Bruce Pivetz
(Dynamac) provided Environmental Scientist Mirtha Capiro with
an evaluation of the capture zone of a ground-water extraction
system at the General Motors Cluster RCRA Sites in Moraine, OH.
A number of issues were discussed including data required for a
better understanding of the downgradient contaminant plume
boundary, the effectiveness of a proposal to address these data
gaps, and potential scenarios for the behavior of VOC
contaminants in any portion of the plume that is not being
captured.
(M. Gonsoulin(GWERD)580-436-8616)
Yerington Mine Site, Region 9: On August 30, Steven Acree and
David Jewett (GWERD) visited the Yerington Mine Site in
Yerington, NV, to observe an ongoing investigation of the
hydrogeologic framework north of the mine site and its relationship
to pertinent site features. A tour was also provided of previous
mining operations and associated waste areas at the site. Others in
attendance included representatives from EPA Region 9, Bureau of
Land Management, and consultants.
(S. Acree(GWERD)580-436-8609)
(D. Jewett(GWERD)580-436-8560)
George Air Force Base and Norton Air Force Base, Region 9:On August 23, Steven Acree and Randall Ross (GWERD) and
Milovan Beljin (Dynamac) met with Region 9 representatives and
consultants in San Francisco to discuss possible re-design options
for the ground-water remediation system and techniques for
effectively representing the complex flow system at George Air
Force Base in Victorville, CA. In addition, possible alternatives
for verifying remedial system performance with respect to remedial
objectives at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, CA, were
also discussed.
(S.Acree(GWERD)580-436-8609)
(R. Ross(GWERD)580-436-8611)
Carson Ground Water Contamination RCRA Site, Region 9:On September 22, Steven Acree (GWERD) and Mingyu Wang,
Noman Ahsanuzzaman, and Rob Earle (Shaw Env.) provided RPM
Greg Lovato with comments on a model output report for the
Carson Ground Water Contamination RCRA Site in Carson, CA.
In general, the model was developed using a comprehensive
modeling process with assistance of the automated parameter
estimation package PEST. In addition to a "traditional" sensitivity
analysis, a predictive error analysis and dual calibration that
focused on the sensitivity of model predictions to uncertainty in
model parameters are presented in the report. This model was
implemented as a tool in investigating the possible pathways of
plume migration. However, due to the complexity of site
conditions, limited data available for model calibration, and other
simplifications during the model development, there is significant
uncertainty in the prediction results.
(S. Acree(GWERD)580-436-8609)
MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES
Chunming Su (GWERD) gave an invited presentation entitled "New Advances in Boron Soil Chemistry" at the Third International Symposium on All Aspects of Plant and Animal Boron Nutrition. The symposium was held in Wuhan, Peoples' Republic of China, September 9-13. Chunming Su was the first soil scientist to report successful research results on boron binding mechanisms on soil mineral surfaces using in-situ infrared spectroscopy, a technique that enables real-time collection of information in aqueous systems.
Dominic DiGiulio (GWERD) gave an invited presentation entitled "Assessment of Vapor Intrusion Using Indoor and Sub-Slab Air Sampling" at the Soil Vapor Monitoring, Vapor Intrusion, and Indoor Air: A Workshop, in San Diego, held September 26-27.
TRAINING
Mary Gonsoulin and Ann Keeley (GWERD) attended Bio-Safety Training in Cincinnati, September 12-16. The course included participants from NRMRL laboratories involved in Homeland Security.
SPECIAL EMPHASIS PROGRAM NEWS
To commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15), Yolanda Olivas (GWERD) gave a short presentation on September 22 entitled "A Brief History of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, a Border Crossing Area." The presentation highlighted the history of El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, and their connection over the course of history.