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Making the Program Faster, Fairer, and More Efficient (Continued)
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Reducing Time and Cost Through Presumptive Remedies
Seeking to improve consistency and to streamline cleanups, EPA implemented the use of presumptive remedies. Presumptive remedies provide guidance on how to address certain recurring situations at sites, thereby standardizing the response.
Presumptive remedies have been developed for the following four types of sites:
- Municipal landfills;
- Volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in soils;
- Wood treater sites; and
- Contaminated ground water.
At the Indian Bend Wash site in Arizona, presumptive remedies increased consistency in decision making by taking advantage of lessons learned at similar sites and allowing a speedup of the site evaluation process. A study conducted by EPA's Office of the Inspector General noted efficiency, economy, consistency, and quality as some of the benefits of presumptive remedy use at the South Indian Bend Wash site.
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Some Innovative Treatment Technologies SOIL VAPOR EXTRACTION removes contaminant vapors from soil (without having to dig it up) through the use of vacuum extraction wells placed in the ground. Contaminants are collected for further treatment. AIR SPARGING injects air into the ground below the contaminated area, forming bubbles that rise and carry trapped and dissolved contaminants to the surface where they are captured by a soil vapor extraction system. BIOREMEDIATION uses microorganisms, such as bacteria in engineered processes, to break down organic contaminants into harmless substances. THERMAL DESORPTION heats soil at relatively low temperatures to vaporize contaminants with low boiling points. Vaporized contaminants then are captured and removed for further treatment or destruction. SOIL WASHING uses water or a washing solution and mechanical processes to scrub excavated soils and remove hazardous contaminants. CHEMICAL DEHALOGENATION converts contaminants that contain halogens (chlorine and fluorine, for example) to less toxic substances through controlled chemical reactions that remove or replace halogen atoms. SOLVENT EXTRACTION separates hazardous organic contaminants from oily-type wastes, soils, sludges, and sediments, reducing the volume of hazardous waste that must be treated. IN SITU SOIL FLUSHING floods contaminated soils beneath the ground surface with a solution that flushes the contaminants to an area where they can be extracted. |
Reviewing and Updating Cleanup Decisions
EPA has instituted a number of procedures to make sure that the best (and most up-to-date) information is used in deciding a clean up remedy.
For example, proposed remedies are analyzed by a peer review group to make certain that they are cost-effective, consistent with Superfund law and regulations, and protective of human health and the environment. Such reviews from 1995 through 1999 resulted in total savings of over $70 million, and a savings of $27 million in 1999 alone.
These reviews continue even after a cleanup has started. Remedy decisions are updated to bring them in line with current science and technology, or reflect new information about a site. Such updates have occurred at 300 sites -- producing cost savings of $1.5 billion.
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Preventing Pollution with "Green Chemistry" If there are no hazardous substances, there are no potentially hazardous releases. Stopping hazardous substances from being created in first place is the goal of "green chemistry." Green chemistry, or environmentally benign chemistry, is focused on processes and products that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Major interest in green chemistry began with the passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, and gained momentum in 1991 as it became the formal focus of an EPA program. When the Pollution Prevention Act passed Congress in 1990, it was the first act to focus on pollution prevention rather than treatment and abatement. This represented a fundamental change from the government regulatory approach, dictating methods of dealing with pollutants that had been typical of the previous decade. The Act established pollution prevention as national policy, encouraging industries and academics to devise novel technologies and processes that avoided the formation and/or use of hazardous substances. In 1991, EPA created the Green Chemistry Program. The Green Chemistry Program is a non-regulatory program fostering research, development, and implementation of innovative chemical technologies that prevent pollution in a scientifically sound and cost-effective manner. The program works with many partners in industry, academia, other government agencies, scientific societies, trade organizations, national laboratories, and research centers to promote pollution prevention through green chemistry. Pollution prevention through green chemistry is gaining widespread attention thanks to public/private partnerships. New green chemistry programs now provide incentives for the private sector to develop innovative solutions to production. The chemical industry is changing its face through advances in green technology, while at the same time utilizing the benefits of significant reductions in regulation compliance costs, liability and cleanup costs, and disposal and on-site storage costs. |
