Developing Life‐Cycle Environmental Response Costs for Leaking Underground Storage Systems at Service Station Sites

Leaking underground storage tank systems at service stations have resulted in tens of thousands of petroleum releases and associated groundwater chemical plumes often extending hundreds of feet off‐site. Technical and engineering approaches to assess and clean up releases from underground tanks, product lines, and dispensers using technologies such as soil vapor extraction, air sparging, biostimulation, and monitored natural attenuation are well understood and widely published throughout the literature. This article summarizes life‐cycle environmental response costs typically encountered using site‐specific cost estimation or metric‐based cost categories considering the overall complexity of site conditions: (1) simple sites where response actions require smaller scale assessments and/or remediation and have limited or no off‐site impacts; (2) average sites where response actions require larger scale assessments and/or remediation typical of petroleum releases; (3) complex sites where response actions require greater on‐site and/or off‐site remediation efforts; and (4) mega sites where petroleum plumes have impacted public or private water supplies or where petroleum vapors have migrated into occupied buildings. Associated cleanup cost estimates rely upon appropriate combinations of individual work elements and the duration of operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities. These cost estimates can be offset by state reimbursement funds, coverage in purchase agreements, and insurance policies. A case study involving a large service station site portfolio illustrates the range of site complexity and life‐cycle environmental response costs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Trace metals in sediments of Southeast Pacific Fjords, north region (42.5 degrees to 46.5 degrees S)

Analyses of trace metals in benthic sediments from selected fjords and channels between 41 degrees 30' and 46 degrees 50'S, 75 degrees -72.3 degrees W were made after the CIMAR 1 Fjords expedition co-ordinated by CONA-Chile in 1995; the metals analyzed include Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr, V and Zn. The objective of this study was to establish baseline values for these metals and to compare them with similar studies made in comparable, but geographically distinct, environments. Box core samples were collected at 35 stations and metal analysis was by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) using the MESS-2 reference standard. The ranked abundance by metal was Ba > Sr > V > Zn > Cr > Cu approximately Ni approximately Pb > Co > Cd; these metals were not homogenous across the region and coefficients of variation were >10%. There were distinct groupings by metal and geographical area including the fjords, basins and channels. Depth profiles of the metal concentrations also varied spatially, e.g. Guafo, Laguna San Rafael, Moraleda, Corcovado, Quitralco, and Jacaf were predominantly homogeneous with depth profiles indicative of pristine systems experiencing few human impacts. In contrast, Aysen, Cupquelan and Puyuguapi Fjords had higher concentrations towards the surface, indicating elevated inputs in recent years. No major differences in metal content of the sediments were observed when compared with values from comparable natural systems in the northern hemisphere. Principal component analysis (PCA) grouped several seemingly isolated locations as having the same metal signature and indicated the pattern of dispersion across the region.     

Modelling the Removal of Gaseous Pollutants and Particulate Matters from the Atmosphere of a City by Rain: Effect of Cloud Density

In this paper, an original nonlinear mathematical model for the removal of gaseous pollutants and particulate matters from the atmosphere of an industrial city by rain is proposed and analyzed. It is assumed that five interacting phases in the atmosphere of the city exist, i.e., cloud droplets phase, raindrops phase, gaseous pollutants phase, particulate matters phase, and the phase of absorbed gaseous pollutants in raindrops. It is assumed further that these phases undergo nonlinear interactions in the atmosphere, while gaseous pollutant interacts with cloud droplets as well as with raindrops but particulate matters interact only with raindrops. The gravitational settling and reversible reaction processes have also been considered appropriately in the model. By analyzing the model, it is shown that both the gaseous pollutants and particulate matters may be removed from the atmosphere under certain conditions, provided the rates of formation of cloud droplets and raindrops are sufficiently large. It is noted that under unfavorable atmospheric conditions, rain does not occur and pollutants are not removed from the atmosphere.     

Assessment of large-scale deforestation of Nawarangpur district, Orissa, India: a remote sensing based study

The Nawarangpur district, Orissa, a tropical region with Sal mixed moist deciduous and Sal mixed dry deciduous forests, has been affected by extensive deforestation. The district was surveyed using Landsat MSS (1973), Landsat TM (1990) and IRS P6 LISS III (2004) satellite imagery. From 1973 to 1990, more than 888.6 km(2) of dense forest (rate of deforestation = 3.62) and from 1990 to 2004, 429.7 km(2) (rate of deforestation = 3.97) were found to have been deforested. The analysis of results identified the reduction in area of dense forest and increase of agricultural land, degraded areas of abandoned agricultural land and unproductive scrub. There is an urgent need for rational management of the remaining forest for it to be able to survive beyond next decades. From this study it can be concluded that temporal changes and the factors affecting these changes should be determined for sustainable management of natural resources.     

DO-BOD modeling of River Yamuna for national capital territory, India using STREAM II, a 2D water quality model

The study illustrates the utility of STREAM II as a modeling package to determine the pollution load due to organic matter in the River Yamuna during its course through the National Capital Territory that is Delhi, India. The study was done for a period from 1995–2005. Model simulates the dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand parameters in a two-dimensional fashion by performing the numerical solution to a set of differential equations representing aquatic life with the help of Crank–Nicholson finite difference method. The model was simulated and calibrated through the field water-quality primary data and the secondary data which were taken from Central Pollution Control Board. The main reasons for the high river pollution is increasing population of Delhi and other states, leading to generation of huge amounts of domestic sewage into the river Yamuna. The model gave a good agreement between calibrated and observed data, thus, actualizing the validity of the model. However, discrepancies noticed during model calibrations were attributed to the assumptions adopted in the model formulation and to lack of field data.     

Localizing Gaseous Fugitive Emission Sources by Combining Real-Time Optical Remote Sensing and Wind Data

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a new approach to localize point emissions from ground-level fugitive gaseous air pollution sources. We estimate the crosswind plume's ground-level peak location downwind from the source by combining smooth basis functions minimization (SBFM) with path-integrated optical remote sensing concentration data acquired along the crosswind direction in alternating beam path lengths. Peak location estimates, in conjunction with real-time measured wind direction data, are used to reconstruct the fugitive source location. We conducted a synthetic data study to evaluate the proposed peak location SBFM reconstruction. Furthermore, the methodology was validated with open-path Fourier transform infrared concentration data collected with wind direction data downwind from a controlled point source. This approach was found to provide reasonable estimates of point source location. The field study reconstructed source location was within several meters of the real source location.     

Estimating Remediation Costs at Contaminated Sites With Varying Amounts of Available Information

Environmental professionals are often tasked with projecting the cost to bring a contaminated site or portfolio of sites to regulatory closure. Fortunately, there are a number of useful guidance documents and industry publications available to assist in such cost projections. However, the usefulness of such tools is limited when adequate costing information is lacking, such as (a) the nature and extent of contamination; (b) regulatory requirements; (c) the remedial approach to be implemented; and/or (d) the duration of operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities. Despite the lack of such information, cost‐to‐closure estimates are nevertheless routinely needed and generated for internal assessments or audits, regulatory disclosures, property acquisitions, insurance claims, litigation, and other business transactions. Cost estimates are also often needed in bankruptcy proceedings where the trier of fact must estimate the total future costs associated with an environmental legacy portfolio to determine the overall value (or solvency in the case of evaluating the potential bankruptcy) of a company. This article presents a solution for developing cleanup costs for single sites or a portfolio of sites using a comprehensive, three‐tiered method that is effective over a wide range of site information. Real‐world examples of the successful application of this method are then provided, based on detailed environmental analyses that were completed for a recent bankruptcy proceeding and a case in which an estimated cleanup cost was needed in a legal proceeding. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Plant biodiversity and ethnobotany inside the projected impact area of the Upper Seti Hydropower Project,Western Nepal

A survey of plant biodiversity and ethnobotany was conducted along the Seti river banks in the Tanahun district of Western Nepal. This area, home of the Magar ethnic group, will be impacted by a major hydropower project, currently under feasibility study. The objective of the study was to document plant biodiversity and ethnobotany in order to suggest appropriate conservation and management strategies. Botanical sampling was conducted inside quadrats and along transects. A total of 221 plant species were recorded in the study area, distributed as herbs (80 species), trees (68), shrubs (28), climbers (19), pteridophytes (18), lianas (5), and epiphytes (3). Twelve of the inventoried species figure in one or more conservation categories identified by various national or international agencies. Group discussions and personal interviews allowed to find out that 43% of the species were ethnobotanically important for the local people and that most were used as medicine, food, or timber. We propose specific species for sustainable use programs based on certain criteria. The area is very important in terms of plant biodiversity and ethnobotany, and hence, immediate implementation of conservation measures is recommended to maintain the high social, ecological and economic values of the area.