Travis Air Force Base: A greener cleanups case study

Travis Air Force Base, California, has accelerated the pace of remediation while reducing long‐term costs and cutting greenhouse gas production. This has been achieved through optimizing existing systems and processes, adopting greener cleanups best management practices, and testing and implementing innovative “green” technologies. By optimizing and replacing existing systems that used energy‐intensive infrastructure, and by promoting the use of innovative in situ technologies, the US Air Force (Air Force) led team comprised of the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the US Army Corps of Engineers, the performance‐based contractor CH2M, and the regulatory agencies consisting of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the California Water Board, and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, has reduced annual system operation and maintenance costs by over $200,000 per year, while reducing annual carbon dioxide production by approximately 930 tons per year. As a result of these actions, chlorinated solvent source areas have been reduced by over 99 percent in some cases, and the predicted cleanup time frame for multiple sites has been reduced by several decades. This article provides a case study for implementation of cost‐effective greener cleanup actions, and summarizes the approach taken by the Air Force led team to complete the greener cleanups self‐declaration process consistent with the ASTM International's E‐2893 Standard Guide for Greener Cleanups.     

Sustainable remediation at the Massachusetts Military Reservation

When does remediation do more harm than good? After conducting a sustainability analysis on a large pump‐and‐treat site at the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR), the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (AFCEE) found evidence suggesting that the remediation systems were creating more pollution than they were remediating. For several years, the AFCEE/MMR has had an aggressive “better, cheaper, faster” optimization program intended to expedite aquifer restoration, reduce costs to the taxpayers, and reduce cleanup time frames. An initial sustainability analysis was conducted in 2005 as part of this program. The analysis identified several concerns, one of which was the indirect generation of air emissions from conventional fossil fuel–based power plants used to power the remediation systems. In addition to the environmental impact of these air emissions, the cost of electricity continues to increase. The AFCEE/MMR evaluated options for addressing both of these concerns and opted to employ renewable energy technology in the form of a utility‐scale wind turbine. This case study presents a more sustainable approach to remediation at the MMR through the use of renewable energy, in the form of a 1,500‐kW wind turbine. Power costs for operating the treatment systems, which processed up to 16 million gallons per day, amounted to over $2.2 million in 2008. The wind turbine is anticipated to reduce the program's electricity costs and offset air emissions, generated indirectly through the use of electricity from fossil fuel–based power plants, by approximately 25 to 30 percent. Based on a range of utility cost projections and an estimate of the turbine's energy production, the $4.6 million project is anticipated to have a payback period between six and eight years. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. *

1 This article is a U.S. Government work and, as such, is in the public domain of the United States of America.

     

Nature,frequency, and cost of environmental remediation at onshore oil and gas exploration and production sites

This article quantifies the nature, frequency, and cost of environmental remediation activities for onshore oil and gas operations, as determined from over 4,100 environmental remediation cases in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado. For the purpose of this article, “remediation'' refers to cleanup efforts that entail longer‐term site characterization, monitoring, and remedial action beyond the initial spill cleanup or emergency response stage. In addition, data are also presented regarding short‐term spill cleanup activities in two of the four states. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Proven methods for managing public perception of cleanups

Negative public perceptions can dramatically increase site remediation costs or even bring projects to a grinding halt. Public opposition and ensuing political pressure are two damaging, but often ignored, obstacles that confront remediation managers. This article discusses these and other public management issues, recommending tactics proven for maintaining positive working relationships with a site's human neighbors, the media (electronic and print), government officials, regulatory agencies, and other concerned groups to allow site cleanup to proceed without intervention, opposition, or unnecessary delay. It illustrates its warnings about public and political hostility with case histories from Superfund, RCRA, and other cleanup sites, recounting how corporate management won the public's confidence and kept their projects on time and within budget.     

Remediation of the Radioactive Waste Landfill and Chemical Disposal Pits Sites at Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories' Environmental Restoration (ER) Project remediated the Radioactive Waste Landfill and Chemical Disposal Pits (RWL/CDPs) sites located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The remediation was conducted in 1996 using conventional excavation, as well as hybrid remote robotic manipulation technology at a cost of approximately $3 million. Wastes generated included approximately 73 cubic meters (m³) of debris (including thermal batteries, spark gap tubes, radioactive sources, weapons components, and some classified material), 535 m³ of plutonium-contaminated soil, and 2,294 m³ of soil contaminated with thorium, cesium, uranium, and tritium. The remediation was successful since the project goal of risk reduction was accomplished and no injuries or negative occurrences resulted. This cleanup is one example of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) accelerated approach to environmental restoration. The remediation was performed as a voluntary corrective measure to reduce schedule and budget, compared with the traditional approach following Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations.     

Australia's National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances – Overview and Current Issues

Australia's National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances (the National Plan) has operated since 1973. The objectives of the National Plan are based on Australia's obligations as a signatory to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation 1990 and a responsibility to protect natural and artificial (man made) environments from the adverse effects of oil pollution and minimise those effects where protection is not possible.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is the managing agency of the National Plan, working together with the States and Northern Territory governments, other Commonwealth agencies, ports, and the shipping, oil and exploration industries, to maximise Australia's marine pollution response capability.The 1990s have been a period of significant change for oil spill response arrangements in Australia. The National Plan was extended in 1998 to cover chemical spills and is currently in the process of implementing the oil spill response incident control system (OSRICS). A fixed wing aerial dispersant spraying capability was implemented in 1996 and a research and development program has been put in place. The development of a computer-based National Oil Spill Response Atlas was a major project completed during 1999.     

Costs of forestry best management practices in the south: A review

In response to federal and state clean water laws, forestry best management practices (BMPs) have been developed and implemented to prevent nonpoint source water pollution. Ellefson and Miles (1985) found that estimated BMP costs in the Midwest could amount to more than half of the net returns on national forest timber sales. Henly et al. (1988) found that government costs to implement forest practice rules ranged from as little as $100,000 per year in Idaho and Nevada to more than $4 million annually in California. A review of studies in the South indicates that estimated BMP costs have increased over time. Lickwar et al. (1992) estimated Southeast average costs of $12.45 per acre, $2.34 per MBF, or 2.87% of gross stumpage values based on 1987 BMPs and prices. Woodman and Cubbage (1994) estimated Georgia average BMP costs of $24.33 per acre or $3.02 per MBF for forest industry lands and $41.65 per acre or $5.39 per MBF for NIPF lands. For Virginia, Shaffer et al. (1998) estimated median BMP costs of $18.90 per acre. These moderate cost increases could be attributed to a higher level of standards in the revision of each state BMP guidelines manual, as well as moderate price inflation. BMPs such as better road construction, water bars, culverts, and broad-based dips have been most expensive so far. To date streamside zones have not been very expensive because the rules allow most of the valuable residual tees to be harvested as long as heavy equipment does not operate near the streams. However, this limitation may become much more difficult and costly – as indicated by Kluender et al. (2000) – as fewer chainsaw fellers and cable skidders are available. Stricter BMPs, such as those already adopted to implement forest certification standards in the South or those used to protect salmon habitat in the West, could prompt more expensive southern BMPs for landowners and state agencies in the future.     

A Cost Comparison of Organic versus Inorganic Ion Exchange Resin for Remediation of High-Level Waste

Ion exchange (IX) can be used to aid in the remediation of underground storage tank (UST) radioactive waste at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford site in the state of Washington. In particular, IX can be used to concentrate the radionuclides in liquid-based waste prior to immobilization for final disposal. Concentration of the radionuclides can significantly reduce the final immobilized high-level waste volume and consequent overall remediation cost. Organic and inorganic IX resins each have unique advantages and disadvantages regarding the remediation process. This study presents a comparison of the remediation cost for UST waste at Hanford for a phenol-formaldehyde type organic resin versus crystalline silico-titanate inorganic resin. It was determined that with optimum processing conditions such as waste blending and sludge washing, remediation with the inorganic resin would be less expensive than the organic resin. Assuming baseline remediation conditions, the use of inorganic rather than organic IX resin for UST remediation at Hanford can save approximately $383 million. A limited sensitivity analysis was performed as pan of this study and is reported in the following. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Look at groundwater quality to set VOC cleanup levels

In 1981, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) discovered groundwater contamination by solvents and chromium at the Phoenix Goodyear Airport (PGA), just outside the city of Phoenix. ADHS and the U.S. EPA sampled the site for the next two years, finding that eighteen of their wells were contaminated with trichloroethene (TCE), six exceeding ADHS's action level of five micrograms per liter (μg/l). In 1983, the PGA site was added to the National Priorities List, and, in 1984, EPA began a $3 million remedial investigation, focusing on soils and groundwater. This article discusses how that investigation inspired the authors to develop a stream-lined evaluation method for PGA's volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the process for establishing VOC cleanup levels, and the $26 million of remediation work needed to be done at the site. The heart of this effort is a computer program called VLEACH, loosely standing for VOC-LEACHing, which anticipates the influence of VOCs on PGA's groundwater, even as remediation proceeds.     

Summary of Development and Field Testing of the Transrec Oil Recovery System

This paper summarizes the development, field testing and performance evaluation of the Transrec oil recovery system including the Framo NOFO Transrec 350 skimmer and multi-functional oil spill prevention and response equipment and presents performance data, not published before, from full-scale experimental oil spills in the North Sea from 1981 to 1990. The rare data provides useful information for evaluation of mechanical clean-up capabilities and efficiency, in particular, for responders who are using this equipment in many countries around the world.The development of the Transrec oil recovery system represents one of the most comprehensive efforts funded to date by the oil industry in Norway to improve marine and open ocean oil spill response capabilities. The need for improvements was based upon early practical user experience with different oil recovery systems, and test results from experimental oil spills in the North Sea.The result of the development efforts increased: (1) skimmer efficiency from approximately 15–75% (it reached 100% under favorable environmental conditions); (2) oil emulsion recovery rate from approximately 20–300 m³/h; (3) recovery system efficiency from approximately 15–85% in 1.5 m significant wave height; (4) oil emulsion thickness from approximately 15–35 cm; (5) weather-window for mechanical recovery operations from 1.5 to 3.0 m significant wave height; (6) capability for transfer of recovered oil residue to shuttle tankers in up to 4 m significant wave height and 45 knot winds; (7) capability for operations at night.The new Transrec oil recovery system with the special J-configuration virtually eliminated skimming operation downtime, and damage to booms and equipment failures that had been caused by oil spill response vessel (OSRV) problems with maintaining skimming position in the previous three-vessel oil recovery system with the boom towed in U-configuration. The time required to outfit OSRVs dropped from approximately 30–<1 h, reducing time from notification to operation on site by more than 24 h.Improvement in oil recovery resulted in the acceptance of a new oil spill preparedness and response plan. The new plan reduced the need for oil recovery systems from 21 to 14, towing vessels in preparedness from 42 to 18, and personnel on stand-by from 135 to 70, which subsequently reduced the total contingency and operational costs by almost 50%. These cost reductions resulted from lower contingency fees for personnel, fewer towing vessels on stand-by, less expensive open ocean training and exercises, less equipment and reduced storage space to lease, and simplified equipment maintenance.     

Radiological risks and cleanup costs: A remediation case study

Potential health risks and cleanup costs are primary factors for measuring the effectiveness of a remediation project concerning a site contaminated with residual radioactive materials. Demanding cleanup of a contaminated site to its original condition, while eliminating any health risks after cleanup, can require prohibitive costs. However, by setting practical remediation objectives and by performing realistic but conservative risk assessments, health risks can be acceptable and cleanup costs can be reasonable. This article uses the South-Middle and Southeast Vaults Decontamination and Demolition Project at Argonne National Laboratory to demonstrate how negligible health risks can result after cleanup with minimal cleanup costs. Substantial cost savings of approximately $2 million was realized by implementing in-place decontamination and demolition (D&D) on the basis of acceptable risk, instead of requiring cleanup of the site to its original condition. By using the RESRAD computer program as a modeling tool, we show the maximum projected radiation dose (0.1 mrem per year) and the potential lifetime cancer risk (on the order of 10⁶) to an individual from exposure to the residual radioactivities are negligibly small. In addition to aiding in the selection of a preferred remediation alternative, results of the RESRAD modeling were also used to guide the implementation of the selected alternative to reduce exposures from the dominant pathway and to ensure that exposures from all pathways would be as low as reasonably achievable.     

Looking to the Future––Setting the Agenda for Oil Spill Prevention,Preparedness and Response in the 21st Century

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) was largely driven by the catastrophic EXXON VALDEZ tanker spill and several other major tanker spills that followed in 1989. Under the OPA 90 mandate, the US Coast Guard, in partnership with other Federal agencies and industry have implemented a number of initiatives that have significantly enhanced the national oil spill prevention, preparedness and response capability. Declining trends in the volume of oil spilled into US waters indicates that these initiatives are at least in some measure successful.The Coast Guard is now concerned about what the future may hold in terms of oil pollution threats, and prevention, preparedness and response program shortcomings and opportunities in the future. To address this issue, the Coast Guard, in partnership with other National Response Team agencies and industry, is conducting a Broad-Based Programmatic Risk Assessment to develop a comprehensive vision and strategy for the Oil Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response (OSPPR) Program in the 21st Century. This study will characterize the current and emerging oil spill threats by source category, assess the potential impacts of these threats to define overall risk, and examine the current and projected effectiveness of OSPPR initiatives in minimizing these risks. Key issues, problems and focus areas will be identified and targeted for follow-on risk analysis and management activities by the Coast Guard and agency and industry stakeholders.     

Cost effectively decommissioning an automotive parts facility

Using a comprehensive approach to decommission a 180,000-square-foot automotive parts manufacturing facility saves time and money while reducing environmental liability. Prior to starting the facility decommissioning, a detailed facility characterization was conducted to identify contaminated areas. Remediation activities were scheduled to coincide with facility demolition. Specialized subcontractors were used to perform tasks such as asbestos and lead-paint abatement, soil bioremediation, underground storage tank and clarifier removal, and facility destruction and recycling. The project timetable was reduced by using several crews simultaneously to conduct recycling, demolition, and remediation. Costs were offset by selling remaining equipment, scrap metals, overhead lights and fixtures, and a premanufactured steel building. A total of 415 tons of scrap metal was recycled, not including the aforementioned steel building. On-site recycling and remediation were used wherever possible to reduce cost and associated hauling liabilities. For example, concrete and asphalt debris were crushed and used as base for final site paving, saving disposal costs and base material purchase costs. On-site bioremediation of soil impacted by perchloroethene (PCE) saved over $1.5 million, with total project savings of $2.4 million. On-site remediation and recycling also reduced both long-term and short-term environmental liability.     

Lessons learned outfitting the U.S. Coast Guard with oil pollution equipment

Lessons learned procuring U.S.$30 500 000 of oil pollution recovery equipment for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in response to requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA-90) are presented. A generic requirements analysis and a selection process useful for making equipment acquisitions and staging site selections are described. Response mission, oil spill threat, response area peculiarities, available resources, equipment capabilities, training requirements and life cycle costs are all factors which must be carefully considered in outfitting a response organization. A method to ensure you obtain quality equipment which meets your functional requirements is outlined. Long range concerns about logistics support, training and maintenance are also important considerations.Leveraging existing resources such as existing USCG vessels, commercial vessels available on short notice for lease and the original oil response equipment inventory of the two USCG Strike Teams proved to be extremely cost effective. Selection of a vessel of opportunity skimming system (VOSS) and outfitting replacement offshore buoy tenders with an on-board spilled oil recovery system (SORS) eliminated the costly option of procuring dedicated pollution response vessels which are generally underutilized as a single mission platform. A first article field and factory acceptance testing program ensured all equipment functioned as specified, eliminating costly errors. This process also provided valuable customer input and significant equipment improvements before production started. Quality assurance testing and Government oversight ensured production units were fabricated properly with specified materials identical to the approved first articles adding reliability to the entire delivered system. Staging equipment at three Strike Teams and 19 sites near existing Coast Guard buoy tenders best used the available personnel and vessel resources adjacent to primary oil spill threat areas.     

Stabilization and a multimedia cap for a doe mixed waste site

Closure often of the eleven waste management units covering almost seventy-five acres at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant has been completed. Costing about $47 million, DOE's accelerated Closure and Post Closure Program (CAPCA) has involved structural waste stabilization and installation of a multimedia cap to contain ferrous metals, salts, uranium, solvents, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), oils and coolants, asbestos, and material contaminated with radioisotopes. Designs for closure of the remaining waste unit—used for disposing depleted uranium chips, metals, oxides, organic and caustic chemicals, aged ethers, and more—are being prepared now; they will address the potentially explosive and pyrophoric nature of these wastes. This article describes CAPCA's innovative design and construction methods, as well as how its management coordinated the tight schedules mandated by agreements with federal and state regulatory agencies.     

Introduction/Overview to In Situ Burning of Oil Spills

In situ burning is an oil spill response technique or tool that involves the controlled ignition and burning of the oil at or near the spill site on the surface of the water or in a marsh (see Lindau et al., this volume). Although controversial, burning has been shown on several recent occasions to be an appropriate oil spill countermeasure. When used early in a spill before the oil weathers and releases its volatile components, burning can remove oil from the waters surface very efficiently and at very high rates. Removal efficiencies for thick slicks can easily exceed 95% (Advanced In Situ Burn Course, Spiltec, Woodinville, WA, 1997). In situ burning offers a logistically simple, rapid, inexpensive and if controlled a relatively safe means for reducing the environmental impacts of an oil spill. Because burning rapidly changes large quantities of oil into its primary combustion products (water and carbon dioxide), the need for collection, storage, transport and disposal of recovered material is greatly reduced. The use of towed fire containment boom to capture, thicken and isolate a portion of a spill, followed by ignition, is far less complex than the operations involved in mechanical recovery, transfer, storage, treatment and disposal (The Science, Technology, and Effects of Controlled Burning of Oil Spills at Sea, Marine Spill Response Corporation, Washington, DC, 1994).However, there is a limited window-of-opportunity (or time period of effectiveness) to conduct successful burn operations. The type of oil spilled, prevailing meteorological and oceanographic (environmental) conditions and the time it takes for the oil to emulsify define the window (see Buist, this volume and Nordvik et al., this volume). Once spilled, oil begins to form a stable emulsion: when the water content exceeds 25% most slicks are unignitable. In situ burning is being viewed with renewed interest as a response tool in high latitude waters where other techniques may not be possible or advisable due to the physical environment (extreme low temperatures, ice-infested waters), or the remoteness of the impacted area. Additionally, the magnitude of the spill may quickly overwhelm the deployed equipment necessitating the consideration of other techniques in the overall response strategy (The Science, Technology, and Effects of Controlled Burning of Oil Spills at Sea, Marine Spill Response Corporation, Washington, DC, 1994; Proceedings of the In Situ Burning of Oil Spills Workshop. NIST. SP934. MMS. 1998, p. 31; Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup, Lewis Publishers, Washington, DC, 2001, p. 233). This paper brings together the current knowledge on in situ burning and is an effort to gain regulatory acceptance for this promising oil spill response tool.     

The Oil Pollution Act of 1990: A Decade Later

Analysis of oil spills data confirms that accidental oil spills are natural phenomenon and that there is a relationship between accidental oil spills and variables like vessel size, vessel type, time and region of spill. The volume of oil spilled bears relationship with the volume of petroleum imports and domestic movement of petroleum and proportion of large oil spills. Finally, navigational risk increases with increase in marine traffic and is also determined by variables like hydrographic and meteorological conditions, water configuration, maneuvering space, obstructions and nuisance vessels. The Oil Pollution Act, 1990 (OPA 90) was passed by the US Congress in the aftermath of 11 million gallon spill of crude oil in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The objective of OPA 90 was to minimize marine casualties and oil spills by addressing preventive, protective, deterrent and performance aspects of accidental oil spills. The arm of various regulations like double-hull tankers and vessel response plans extended to both US flagged and foreign-flagged tank vessels. The cost–benefit analysis of major regulations shows that the estimated costs exceed estimated benefits. We observe from USCG data on oil spills by size, by vessel type, Coast guard district and type of petroleum product that there have been significant reductions in the number and the quantity of oil spills. Our regression results show that the quantity of oil spilled increases with increase in oil imports but increases at a decreasing rate. The quantity of oil spilled decreases with increases in the domestic oil movements. Furthermore, percent of oil spills larger than 10,000 gallons also increases the potential quantity of oil spilled. OPA 90 has been a deterrent to accidental oil spills but the finding is not conclusive.     

Sustainable Remediation and Decision Analysis Practices at an Onshore Gas Well Site

Strategies for remediation of drilling mud wastes at a typical deep sour gas well site in the foothills of Alberta were assessed in terms of financial and social costs and benefits, in alignment with established sustainable remediation and decision analysis principles. Managers of contaminated sites containing historical drilling wastes are challenged with managing liability through several regulatory changes over time. Excavation and disposal of the contaminated soil from the site was the only means of securing regulatory release, with the nearest landfill located 150 km away. A perception exists that in many cases excavation and disposal inflicts unnecessary levels of site intrusiveness and public disturbance when other options achieving a similar risk end point may do so for lower social cost. The study tested this hypothesis to ascertain whether the currently accepted solution is the best option when the wider costs and benefits to society and the environment are included. Eight remedial strategies were assessed using cost–benefit analysis, including using environmental economics techniques to quantify social and environmental impacts. The economic model showed that methods such as capping in‐place or engineered encapsulation were superior to full excavation and disposal from financial and sustainability perspectives. Quantified external costs and benefits such as road damage, greenhouse gas emissions, public nuisance and safety, and community amenity value were influential in identifying superior options. It was demonstrated that $0.2 million of societal costs could be avoided by choosing capping over landfill disposal. This represents substantial implications when viewed in the context of this and other operators’ portfolios of hundreds of abandoned wells in the area. ©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Pure oxygen-enhanced biodegradation for contaminated groundwater

On-site oxygen generation was chosen as the most effective and efficient source of pure oxygen for enhancing biodegradation at a hydrocarbon-contaminated oil and gas well site in northern Michigan. Contaminants include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes released through natural gas dehydration practices that were halted in 1985. Free product and contaminated soil were completely removed from the source area in spring 1989, leaving only the groundwater plume for further remediation. This article discusses the project's two phases—a purge and treat system and the pure-oxygen bioremediation system—each costing $75,000. It also details the combined system's technical elements (including purge and monitoring wells, oxygen generator, and drainfield), and cleanup results (including how pure oxygen has helped destroy contaminants, not merely move them to other media).