1990 Thermal Remediation Industry Contractor Survey

The treatment of soil contaminated with organics and inorganics is becoming a major industry in the United States and Europe. The soil cleanup bill for the United States could run as high as $200 to $300 billion over the next 30 to 40 years. European soil cleanup costs could run as high as $130 billion.¹

The types of sites in the United States that will require soil treatment can be broken down into the following categories: ? CERCLA (Superfund) Actions

? RCRA Corrective Actions

? RCRA Closures

? Underground Storage Tanks

? Real Estate Transfers

? Spill Clean-ups.

The cleanup of sites in each of these categories, with the exception of the Real Estate Transfer category, is being driven by different sets of Federal regulations. Real Estate Transfer type regulations were first instituted in New Jersey and have now been promulgated in a number of other states.

The eventual cleanup cost for the Superfund sites will be close to $200 billion. Estimated costs for the industrial sector Superfund are $25 to $50 billion and the estimated cost for the Department of Energy sites is over $150 billion.2 An early RCRA Corrective Action cleanup estimate is $25 billion.3 This estimate may well be low, however, since the permitting, cleanup and delisting criteria are still not clearly defined. The EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action cost estimate is $7.4 billion. However, the Office of Management and Budget feels that this estimate is low.⁴

The potential magnitude of the cleanup costs has resulted in the development and implementation of many technologies for the decontamination of soils. Of the available remedial technologies, thermal treatment has perhaps had the most field testing. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the full scale site remediations which have been or are being conducted using thermal processing equipment. Projects which have been completed, are on-going, or have been contracted for, through January of 1990 are described.     

南方某典型矿冶污染场地健康风险评价及修复建议

矿区及周边土壤重金属污染不容忽视,砷、镉和铅等对周边人群造成较高的健康风险隐患。以南方红壤区某铅锌冶炼矿区污染场地为研究对象,开展危害识别、暴露评估、毒性评估及风险表征,并讨论场地修复目标值与修复技术。结果表明：土壤受到重金属复合污染,关注污染物为四类重金属,包括铅、砷、镉和锌,集中于表层土壤（0~0.6 m）,并呈现空间分布规律性;场地未来用地类型为工业用地,对比污染物（不包括铅）各层（第1层0~0.3 m、第2层0.3~0.6 m、第3层0.6~1.0 m）风险表征值,污染物（砷、镉）存在致癌风险与非致癌危害,研究区重金属污染累积风险水平不可接受;分析风险控制值及国内外相关标准限值等,初步建议砷、镉和铅的修复目标值分别为13.41、21.50和600 mg·kg-1;同时,针对场地污染现状及健康风险,建议源控制与修复技术并用,并与当地工业园区建设统筹开展。     

PCB contaminated dust on indoor surfaces--health risks and acceptable surface concentrations in residential and occupational settings

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been used in diverse purposes such as indoor paints. Removal of these paints with dust creating techniques, like sandblasting, will result in contamination of building surfaces with PCB-containing dust. Objectives of this study was to analyze the PCB concentrations on surfaces after sandblasting with silica using wipe samples and estimate the resulting health risks and further calculate the risk based acceptable PCB surface concentrations that do not cause incremental lifetime cancer risk higher that 10(-5) or does not cause immunosupression effects in residential use or in occupational settings. Both deterministic and probabilistic approaches were used. The total PCB concentrations on surfaces ranged from 10 to 1100 microg/m(2). Estimated cancer risk was 1.2 x 10(-4) for childhood exposure, 1.3 x 10(-5) for adult residents and 1.5 x 10(-5) for occupational exposure. Probabilistic risk assessment revealed that point estimates were quite reasonable and located between 45th and 79th percentiles on probabilistic distribution of risk. The noncancer risks were calculated as hazard quotients (HQ) which ranged from 3.3 to 35 depending on the exposure scenario. Acceptable surface concentrations based on noncancer effects that are protective for 95% of exposed population were 7 microg/m(2) for residential use, 65 microg/m(2) for residential use if only adults will be exposed and 140 microg/m(2) for occupational use. Preliminary cleanup experiment revealed that when contaminated dust was carefully removed with industrial vacuum cleaner and further washed with terpene containing liquid the surface concentration dropped below the acceptable levels calculated in this study.     

Human health risk assessment case study: an abandoned metal smelter site in Poland

United States Environmental Protection Agency methodologies for human health risk assessment (HRA) were applied in a Brownfields Demonstration Project on the Warynski smelter site (WSS), an abandoned industrial site at Piekary Slaskie town, Upper Silesia, Poland. The HRA included the baseline risk assessment (BRA) and the development of risk-based preliminary remedial goals (RBPRGs). The HRA focused on surface area covered with waste materials, which were evaluated with regard to the potential risks they may pose to humans. Cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, lead, and zinc were proposed as the contaminants of potential concern (COPCs) at WSS based on archive data on chemical composition of waste located on WSS. For the defined future land use patterns, the industrial (I) and recreational (II) exposure scenarios were assumed and evaluated. The combined hazard index for all COPCs was 3.1E+00 for Scenario I and 3.2E+00 for Scenario II. Regarding potential carcinogenic risks associated with the inhalation route, only cadmium was a contributor, with risks of 1.6E-06 and 2.6E-07 for Scenario I and Scenario II, respectively. The results of the BRA indicated that the potential health risks at WSS were mainly associated with waste material exposure to cadmium (industrial and recreational scenarios) and lead (industrial scenario). RBPRGs calculated under the industrial scenario were 1.17E+03 and 1.62E+03 mg/kg for cadmium and lead, respectively. The RBPRG for cadmium was 1.18E+03 mg/kg under the recreational scenario. The BRA results, as well as RBCs, are comparable for both scenarios, so it is impossible to prioritize land use patterns for WSS based on these results. For choosing a future land use pattern or an appropriate redevelopment option, different factors would be decisive in the decision-making process, e.g., social, market needs, technical feasibility and costs of redevelopment actions or acceptance of local community.     

Alternating Current Electrocoagulation for Superfund Site Remediation

Abstract

The Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Emerging Technology (ET) Program, authorized under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986, implements the goal of the SITE Program to promote, accelerate the development of, and make commercially available alternative innovative treatment technologies for use at Superfund sites.

Under this program, the technical and economical feasibility of alternating current electrocoagulation (ACE) developed by Electro-Pure Systems, Inc., was evaluated for a two-year period. ACE is an electrochemical technology where highly-charged aluminum polyhydroxide species are introduced into aqueous media for the removal of suspended solids, oil droplets and soluble ionic pollutants. ACE can break stable aqueous colloidal suspensions of up to 10 percent total solids and stable emulsions containing up to 5 percent oil.

Major operating parameters have been defined for different classes of effluents based on experimental results using complex synthetic soil slurries and metals. Test results indicate that ACE produces aqueous and solid separations comparable to those produced by chemical flocculent additions, but with reduced filtration times and sludge volumes. The technology has application where removal of soluble and suspended pollutants from effluents is required, and in the recovery of fine-grained products from process streams. The technology, however, has not yet been demonstrated at full-scale for Superfund site remediation. The principal results of the SITE research program, and results of ACE treatment on some different classes of industrial effluents not part of the SITE Program, are summarized.     

Establishing and Evaluating the Risk Implications of Uniform Soil Remediation Goals

Abstract

There is growing interest in the establishment of uniform, concentration-based soil remediation goals to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated sites and to provide consistency in the extent of cleanup required for similar sites. If uniform goals are used in a region, post-remediation risk will vary across sites due to regional variability in site properties. Thus far, of the national and state agencies that have established or proposed uniform concentration guidelines, none have quantified the regional variability in risk that is likely to result with their use as remediation goals.

This paper describes a methodology for evaluating regional cancer risk variability resulting from use of uniform, concentration-based soil remediation goals, presents an example application of the methodology, and examines its utility for establishing uniform goals for organic contaminants in soil. The methodology is based on the integrated transport, fate, exposure, and risk model SoilRisk. Also addressed is the issue of contaminants for which regional risk variability is expected to be large with use of uniform soil remediation goals. An approach is described for reducing such variability by development of alternative uniform contaminant concentration levels for categories of sites differentiated by site geographic location or physical-chemical properties.     

An evaluation of the role of risk-based decision-making in a former manufactured gas plant site remediation

Environmental remediation decisions are driven by the need to minimize human health and ecological risks posed by environmental releases. The Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund Sites enunciates the principles of exposure and risk assessment that are to be used for reaching remediation decisions for sites under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Experience with remediation management under CERCLA has led to recognition of some crucial infirmities in the processes for managing remediation: cleanup management policies are ad hoc in character, mandates and practices are strongly conservative, and contaminant risk management occurs in an artificially narrow context. The purpose of this case study is to show how a policy of risk-based decision-making was used to avoid customary pitfalls in site remediation. This case study describes the risk-based decision-making process in a remedial action program at a former manufactured gas plant site that successfully achieved timely and effective cleanup. The remediation process operated outside the confines of the CERCLA process under an administrative consent order between the utility and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. A residential use end state was negotiated as part of this agreement. The attendant uncertainties, complications, and unexpected contingencies were overcome by using the likely exposures associated with the desired end state to structure all of the remediation management decisions and by collecting site-specific information from the very outset to obtain a detailed and realistic characterization of human health risks that needed to be mitigated. The lessons from this case study are generalizable to more complicated remediation cases, when supported by correspondingly sophisticated technical approaches.     

Update on Building and Structure Decontamination

Cleanup of the nation’s hazardous waste sites is a top environmental priority. Since the ultimate objective of many cleanup programs is to return the contaminated site and buildings on the site to active use, additional information regarding both established and emerging technologies for building decontamination is needed.

A pilot scale study was performed at an actual Superfund Site to evaluate, side by side, the efficacy of PCB removal using two decontamination processes. One process entails use of a shotblasting technique in which contaminated concrete surfaces are cut away and physically removed. The other process involves application of an alkali metal/polyethylene glycolate mixture directly to contaminated concrete surfaces for insitu degradation of PCBs.     

Development of Cleanup Standards at Superfund Sites: An Evaluation of Consistency

The Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE) recently developed a regulatory program for determining cleanup standards at hazardous waste sites. One of WDOE's first tasks in the development of a cleanup standards program was to evaluate how standards have been developed and implemented under Superfund.

The evaluation of cleanup standards revealed: (1) a great deal of variation among sites, both in the magnitude of the standards set for some contaminants and the basis on which they were set, and (2) that there is no consistent decision-making approach for determining how standards should be set. This lack of consistency and guidance has the potential to result in overly stringent or underprotective cleanup requirements and inefficient standard development.

Washington State has adopted an approach that allows for implementing uniform numerical cleanup standards at relatively straightforward sites and provides a process for establishing site-specific cleanup levels at more complex sites. This approach is expected to facilitate development of standards that offer appropriate human health and ecological protection while minimizing private and public sector site management and cleanup costs.     

Refinery Sludge Treatment/Hazardous Waste Minimization Via Dehydration and Solvent Extraction

Abstract

The patented Carver-Greenfield (C-G) Process®, a combination of dehydration and solvent extraction treatment technologies, has a wide range of uses in separating hydrocarbon solvent-soluble hazardous organic contaminants (indigenous oil) from sludges, soils, and industrial wastes. As a result of this treatment, the products from a C-G Process facility are: ? Clean, dry solids which are typically suitable for disposal in nonhazardous landfills;

? Water which is treatable in an industrial or Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) wastewater treatment facility;

? Extracted indigenous oil containing hydrocarbon soluble contaminants which may be recycled or reused or disposed of at less cost because its volume is smaller than the original waste feed.

The C-G Process was demonstrated on spent oily drilling fluids as part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. This paper summarizes the use of the C-G Process for economical treatment and minimization of hazardous refinery wastes, reviews the SITE program results, and describes extending the C-G Process technology to treatment of other wastes. Estimated treatment costs are presented.     

The Superfund Remedial Action Decision Process: A Review of Fifty Records of Decision

Abstract

Although the Superfund remedial action decision process is a complex process involving a variety of technical, political, and public health issues, the primary goal of remedial action is the protection of public health. We performed an in-depth analysis of 50 post-SARA Records of Decision in order to characterize the role of risk assessment in the decision-making process and determine whether decisions are being made in an effective and environmentally protective manner. Our findings indicate that the majority of decisions to remediate Superfund sites are based on the existence of contamination per se and not on actual public health risk. Although hypothetical risk is an essential consideration, this gray area is not well-defined in the current decision-making process.

The lack of assessment of the degree of risk reduction associated with the remedial alternatives evaluated and the lack of support indicating the effectiveness of the remedial alternatives selected also constitute major weaknesses in the majority of decisions. These inadequacies undermine rationales regarding the protectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the remedial alternatives selected. The fact that objectives beyond addressing public health risk are often unclear in the decision-making process also weakens rationales for costeffectiveness.     

Product Guide/1988

Investigation, mitigation, and clean-up of hazardous materials at Superfund sites normally requires on-site workers to perform hazardous and sometimes potentially dangerous functions. Such functions include site surveys and the reconnaissance for airborne and buried toxic environmental contaminants. Airborne contaminants of concern usually emanate from spilled materials and require monitoring the air at the perimeter and throughout the clean-up site to ascertain the extent of contamination. Buried contaminants of major concern are often the result of leaking underground drums containing toxic wastes and require "reconnaissance excavations" to determine their location. Workers conducting on-site air monitoring risk dermal, ocular and inhalation exposure to hazardous chemicals, while those performing excavations also risk the potential exposure to fire, explosion, and other physical injury. EPA's current efforts to protect its workers and mitigate these risks include the use of robotic devices. Using robots offers the ultimate in personnel protection by removing the worker from the site of potential exposure, especially during site investigations, when there is almost always a certain encounter with unknown chemical wastes having unknown toxicity.

This paper describes the demonstration of a commercially-available robotic plat form modified and equipped for air monitoring and the ongoing research for the development of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system to detect buried chemical waste drums. These robotic devices can ultimately be routinely deployed in the field for the purpose of conducting inherently safe reconnaissance activities during Superfund / SARA remedial operations.     

Environmental Progress and Problems: A Chemical Industry Perspective

From 1995 to 2004, in Genoa, Italy, daily concentrations of twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in particulate phase (PM10), around a coke oven plant in operation from the 1950s and closed in 2002. The study permitted to identify the coke oven as the main PAH source in Genoa, causing constant exceeding of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) air quality target (1.0 ng/m3) in the urban area till 1,900 meters distance downwind the plant. For this reason the plant was closed. Distance and daily hours downwind the coke plant were the main sources of variability of toxic BaP equivalent (BaPeq) concentrations and equations that best fitted these variables were experimentally obtained. During full plant activity, annual average BaPeq concentrations, measured in the three sampling sites aligned downwind to the summer prevalent winds, were: 85 ng/m3 at 40 m (site 2, industrial area), 13.2 ng/m3 at 300 m (site 3, residential area) and 5.6 ng/m3 at 575 m (site 4, residential area).

Soon after the coke oven's closure (February 2002) BaPeq concentrations (annual average) measured in residential area, decreased drastically: 0.2 ng/m3 at site 3, 0.4 ng/m3 at site 4. Comparing 1998 and 2003 data, BaPeq concentrations decreased 97.6% in site 3 and 92.8% in site 4.

Samples collected at site 3, during the longest downwind conditions, provided a reliable PAH profile of fugitive coke oven emissions. This profile was significantly different from the PAH profile, contemporary found at site 5, near the traffic flow.

This study demonstrates that risk assessment based only on distance of residences from a coke plant can be heavily inaccurate and confirmed that seasonal variability of BaPeq concentrations and high variability of fugitive emissions of PAHs during coke oven activities require at least one year of frequent and constant monitoring (10-15 samples each month).

Implications: Around a coking plant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), concentrations depend mainly on downwind hours and distance. Equations that best fit these variables were experimentally calculated. Fugitive emissions of an old coke oven did not comply with the threshold BAP air concentration proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 1,900 m distance. The study identified the PAH profile of fugitive emissions of a coke oven, statistically different from the profile of traffic emissions. During its activity, in the Genoa residential area, 575 m away from the plant, 92.8% of found PAHs was due to coke oven emission only.     

Effects of Land Use Data on Dry Deposition in a Regional Photochemical Model for Eastern Texas

ABSTRACT

Land use data are among the inputs used to determine dry deposition velocities for photochemical grid models such as the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with extensions (CAMx) that is currently used for attainment demonstrations and air quality planning by the state of Texas. The sensitivity of dry deposition and O₃ mixing ratios to land use classification was investigated by comparing predictions based on default U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) land use data to predictions based on recently compiled land use data that were collected to improve biogenic emissions estimates. Dry deposition of O₃ decreased throughout much of eastern Texas, especially in urban areas, with the new land use data. Predicted 1-hr averaged O₃ mixing ratios with the new land use data were as much as 11 ppbv greater and 6 ppbv less than predictions based on USGS land use data during the late afternoon. In addition, the area with peak O₃ mixing ratios in excess of 100 ppbv increased significantly in urban areas when deposition velocities were calculated based on the new land use data. Finally, more detailed data on land use within urban areas resulted in peak changes in O₃ mixing ratios of ~2 ppbv. These results indicate the importance of establishing accurate, internally consistent land use data for photochemical modeling in urban areas in Texas. They also indicate the need for field validation of deposition rates in areas experiencing changing land use patterns, such as during urban reforestation programs or residential and commercial development.     

Fate and contaminant transport model-driven probabilistic human health risk assessment of DNAPL-contaminated site

In this study, fate and contaminant transport model-driven human health risk indexes were calculated due to the presence of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the subsurface environment of air force base area in Florida, USA. Source concentration data of DNAPLs was used for the calculation of transport model-driven health risk indexes for the children and adult sub-population via direct oral ingestion and skin dermal contact exposure scenario using 10,000 Monte Carlo type simulations. The highest variation in the probability distribution of transformed DNAPL compound (cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) > vinyl chloride (VC)) was observed as compared to parent DNAPL (tetrachloroethene (PCE)) based on the 50-year simulation timespan. Transformed DNAPL compounds (VC, cis-DCE) posed the highest risk to human health for a longer duration (up to 15 years) in comparison to parent DNAPL (PCE), as non-carcinogenic hazard quotient varied from 400 to 1100. Carcinogenic health risks were observed as 3-order of magnitude higher than safe limit (HQ_Safe < 10⁻⁶) from 2nd to 5th year timespan and fall in the high-risk zone, indicating the need for a remediation plan for a contaminated site. Variance attribution analysis revealed that concentration, body weight, and exposure duration (contribution percentage – 70 to 95%) were the most important parameters, highlighting the impact of dispersivity and exposure model in the estimation of risk indexes. This approach can help decision-makers when a contaminated site with partial data on hydrogeological properties and with higher uncertainty in model parameters is to be assessed for the formulation of remediation measures.

     

Odor Control In Los Angeles County

Abstract

Concentrations of 38 gas-phase organic air toxics were measured over a 2-yr period at four different sites in and around Pittsburgh, PA, to investigate spatial variations in health risks from chronic exposure. The sites were chosen to represent different exposure regimes: a downtown site with substantial mobile source emissions; two residential sites adjacent to one of the most heavily industrialized zones in Pittsburgh; and a regional background site. Lifetime cancer risks and non-cancer hazard quotients were estimated using a traditional and interactive risk models. Although study average concentrations of specific air toxics varied by as a much as a factor of 26 between the sites, the additive cancer risks of the gas-phase organic air toxics varied by less than a factor of 2, ranging from 6.1 × 10^-5 to 9.5 × 10^-5. The modest variation in risks reflects the fact that two regionally distributed toxics, formalde-hyde and carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), contributed more than half of the cancer risk at all four sites. Benzene contributed substantial cancer risks at all sites, whereas trichloroethene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene only contributed substantial cancer risks at the downtown site. Only acrolein posed a non-cancer risk. Diesel particulate matter is estimated to pose a much greater cancer risk in Pittsburgh than other classes of air toxics including gas-phase organic, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and coke oven emissions. Health risks of air toxics in Pittsburgh are comparable with those in other urban areas in the United States.     

Using risk maps to link land value damage and risk as basis of flexible risk management for brownfield redevelopment

Brownfield redevelopment involves numerous uncertain financial risks associated with market demand and land value. To reduce the uncertainty of the specific impact of land value and social costs, this study develops small-scale risk maps to determine the relationship between population risk (PR) and damaged land value (DLV) to facilitate flexible land reutilisation plans. This study used the spatial variability of exposure parameters in each village to develop the contaminated site-specific risk maps. In view of the combination of risk and cost, risk level that most affected land use was mainly 1.00 × 10^?6 to 1.00 × 10^?5 in this study area. Village 2 showed the potential for cost-effective conversion with contaminated land development. If the risk of remediation target was set at 5.00 × 10^?6, the DLV could be reduced by NT$15,005 million for the land developer. The land developer will consider the net benefit by quantifying the trade-off between the changes of land value and the cost of human health. In this study, small-scale risk maps can illuminate the economic incentive potential for contaminated site redevelopment through the adjustment of land value damage and human health risk.     

Air Pollution Directional Risk Assessment for Siting a Landfill

Abstract

Air pollution directional risk (APDR) is an essential factor to be assessed when selecting an appropriate landfill site. Because air pollutants generated from a landfill are diffused and transported by wind in different directions and speeds, areas surrounding the landfill will be subject to different associated risks, depending on their relative position from the landfill. This study assesses potential APDRs imposed from a candidate landfill site on its adjacent areas on the basis of the pollutant distribution simulated by a dispersion model, wind directions and speeds from meteorological monitoring data, and population density. A pollutant distribution map layer was created using a geographic information system and layered onto a population density map to obtain an APDR map layer. The risk map layer was then used in this study to evaluate the suitability of a candidate site for placing a landfill. The efficacy of the proposed procedure was demonstrated for a siting problem in central Taiwan, Republic of China.     

Minimax Regret Analysis for Municipal Solid Waste Management: An Interval-Stochastic Programming Approach

Abstract

In this study, an interval minimax regret programming (IMMRP) method is developed for the planning of municipal solid waste (MSW) management under uncertainty. It improves on the existing interval programming and minimax regret analysis methods by allowing uncertainties presented as both intervals and random variables to be effectively communicated into the optimization process. The IMMRP can account for economic consequences under all possible scenarios without any assumption on their probabilities. The developed method is applied to a case study of long-term MSW management planning under uncertainty. Multiple scenarios associated with different cost and risk levels are analyzed. Reasonable solutions are generated, demonstrating complex tradeoffs among system cost, regret level, and system-failure risk. The method can also facilitate examination of the difference between the cost incurred with identified strategy and the least cost under an ideal condition. The results can help determine desired plans and policies for waste management under a variety of uncertainties.     

Thermal Encapsulation of Metals in Superfund Soils

Abstract

Superfund sites frequently contain both heavy metals and organic hazardous waste. If not properly controlled, the metals may be changed to a more leachable form and may also be emitted to the atmosphere via the exhaust stack. This paper documents a batch kiln R&D test program to solve these metal-related problems. It was performed under the U.S. EPA’s SITE (Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation) Emerging Technology Program. Allis Mineral Systems has developed the Thermal Encapsulation Process. Metals with limits set by EPA’s TCLP (Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure) test and BIF (boiler and industrial furnace) stack emission regulations, such as cadmium, chromium, and lead, are the initial target of this process. This process, while unproven in these areas, may also apply to mixed waste (EPA hazardous waste/low-level radioactive wastes) and may also benefit commercial hazardous waste or Superfund thermal treatment systems. The results of the SITE tests were positive: strong, durable nodules were produced with excellent crush strength and improved resistance to leaching. Feed preparation, particularly control of moisture content, was found to be a key element in initiation of agglomeration. A good correlation was found between decreasing TCLP metals leachate levels and increasing crush strength.