Making cleanup decisions at hazardous waste sites: the clean sites approach.

This paper provides a summary of the results of an 18-month study conducted by Clean Sites, Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia. The study was designed to take a critical look at the way remedies are selected for abandoned hazardous waste sites that are cleaned up under the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) and to develop recommendations for improving that process. The recommendations were released in an October 1990 report entitled "Improving Remedy Selection: An Explicit and Interactive Process for the Superfund Program." Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Sites is working to test these recommendations. At two actual Superfund sites, Clean Sites will assist EPA in performing the remedy selection in accordance with the process Clean Sites has developed.     

Impact of repeated application on the binding and persistence of [14C]-DDT and [14C]-HCH in a tropical soil

An Indian sandy loam soil was initially treated with 1 kg a.i. ha(-1) of either [(14)C]-p,p'-DDT or [(14)C]-gamma-HCH during winter. DDT concentration after 30 days declined to 75.3%, which included 2.1% soil-bound residues. After 150 days, DDT levels further decreased to 42.4% with a concomitant increase in bound residues amounting to 5.9%. Identical treatment with HCH caused the residue levels to be reduced to 67.4 and 23.6%, after 30 and 150 days, respectively. During this period, the soil-bound residues of HCH increased from 5.2 to 12.8%. Repeat application to pre-treated soils in summer and subsequent field exposure for 30 days reduced the concentration of DDT to 52.1% and that of HCH to 42.4% of the total concentration following the second treatment. In parallel control experiments, which received only a single treatment, DDT levels declined to 61.3%, while HCH slumped to 45.3%, indicating a slower dissipation rate than in the corresponding repeated treatments. In repeat experiments, the soil-bound residues of DDT and HCH showed only a 1.07 to 1.08-fold increase in 30 days, as compared to three to ten-times increase in the control experiments. The results amply demonstrate that pre-treatment of tropical soils with DDT or HCH enhances their rate of dissipation and significantly reduce the formation of their soil-bound residues.     

The influence of pH on cadmium toxicity to the green alga Stichococcus bacillaris and on the cadmium forms present in the culture medium

Cadmium toxicity to the green alga Stichococcus bacillaris was investigated in media of pH 3-9. A significant decrease of cadmium toxicity occurred in both the acidic and alkaline ranges of pH. In media of pH 3 and 9, cadmium did not affect the dry mass content substantially. Maximum toxicity of cadmium was noticed at pH 6-7. Voltametric investigations showed a significant effect of pH on electrochemically measured cadmium content in the culture media. Hydrolysis of the medium components and formation of cadmium complexes with OH(-) ions caused a considerable decrease in amounts of electrochemically measured cadmium in the alkaline range of pH.     

Development of monitoring technology for airborne particulate matter

Particulate matter suspended in the air has adverse effects onhuman health. Its level of concentration is an important parameter in evaluating the degree of hazard it poses to the atmosphere. Conventional methods used in measuring particulatematter are often filter-based, which indicates some disadvantagesbecause such a base requires labor and time. In this study, to achieve real-time measurements, a new electrical method was developed for measuring PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. The basicprinciple is to electrically charge particles passing through thePM inlet using a corona charger and measure the currents createdby charged particles to obtain the number concentration of particulate matter. A new type inlet based on the particle cupimpactor configuration was designed and its performance was evaluated. A unipolar diffusion charger was developed and thecharger's efficiency was determined experimentally in terms ofPn, which represents the penetration through the charger,P, times the average charge number acquired by a particle,n, for different particle sizes. The correlation was constructed between the PM10 (or the PM2.5) mass concentrationsand the electrical currents due to particles, which were chargedby the diffusion charger.     

Soil sampling and analysis for volatile organic compounds

Concerns over data quality have raised many questions related to sampling soils for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This paper was prepared in response to some of these questions and concerns expressed by Remedial Project Managers (RPMs) and On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs). The following questions are frequently asked:

1. Is there a specific device suggested for sampling soils for VOCs?
2. Are there significant losses of VOCs when transferring a soil sample from a sampling device (e.g., split spoon) into the sample container?
3. What is the best method for getting the sample from the split spoon (or other device) into the sample container?
4. Are there smaller devices such as subcore samplers available for collecting aliquots from the larger core and efficiently transferring the sample into the sample container?
5. Are certain containers better than others for shipping and storing soil samples for VOC analysis?
6. Are there any reliable preservation procedures for reducing VOC losses from soil samples and for extending holding times?

Guidance is provided for selecting the most effective sampling device for collecting samples from soil matrices. The techniques for sample collection, sample handling, containerizing, shipment, and storage described in this paper reduce VOC losses and generally provide more representative samples for volatile organic analyses (VOA) than techniques in current use. For a discussion on the proper use of sampling equipment the reader should refer to other sources (Acker, 1974; U.S. EPA, 1983; U.S. EPA, 1986a). Soil, as referred to in this report, encompasses the mass (surface and subsurface) of unconsolidated mantle of weathered rock and loose material lying above solid rock. Further, a distinction must be made as to what fraction of the unconsolidated material is soil and what fraction is not. The soil component here is defined as all mineral and naturally occurring organic material that is 2 mm or less in size. This is the size normally used to differentiate between soils (consisting of sands, silts, and clays) and gravels. Although numerous sampling situations may be encountered, this paper focuses on three broad categories of sites that might be sampled for VOCs:

1. Open test pit or trench.
2. Surface soils (<5 ft in depth).
3. Subsurface soils (>5 ft in depth).

     

Analysing the sensitivity behaviour of two hydrology models

Recently, the New Morris Method has been presented as an effective sensitivity analysis tool for mathematical models. The New Morris Method estimates the sensitivity of an output parameter to a given set of input parameters (first-order effects) and the extent these parameters interact with each other (second-order effects). This method requires the specification of two parameters (runs and resolution) that control the sampling of the output parameter to determine its sensitivity to various inputs. The criteria for these parameters have been set on the analysis of a well-behaved analytical function (see Cropp and Braddock, Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 78:77–83, 2002), which may not be applicable to other physical models that describe complex processes. This paper will investigate the appropriateness of the criteria from (Cropp and Braddock, 2002) and hence the effectiveness of the New Morris Method to determine the sensitivity behaviour of two hydrologic models: the Soil Erosion and Deposition System and Griffith University Representation of Urban Hydrology. In the first case, this paper will separately analyse the sensitivity of an output parameter on a set of input parameters (first- and second-order effects) for each model and discuss the physical meaning of these sensitivities. This will be followed by an investigation into the sampling criteria by exploring the convergence of the sensitivity behaviour for each model as the sampling of the parameter space is increased. By comparing these trends to the convergence behaviour from Cropp and Braddock (2002), we will determine how well the New Morris Method estimates the sensitivity for each model and whether the sampling criteria are appropriate for these models. It will be shown that the New Morris Method can provide additional insight into the functioning of these models, and that, under a different metric, the sensitivity behaviour of these models does converge confirming the sampling criteria set by Cropp and Braddock.     

Analysis of pollutant levels in central Hong Kong applying neural network method with particle swarm optimization

Air pollution has emerged as an imminent issue in modernsociety. Prediction of pollutant levels is an importantresearch topic in atmospheric environment today. For fulfillingsuch prediction, the use of neural network (NN), and inparticular the multi-layer perceptrons, has presented to be acost-effective technique superior to traditional statisticalmethods. But their training, usually with back-propagation (BP)algorithm or other gradient algorithms, is often with certaindrawbacks, such as: 1) very slow convergence, and 2) easilygetting stuck in a local minimum. In this paper, a newlydeveloped method, particle swarm optimization (PSO) model, isadopted to train perceptrons, to predict pollutant levels, andas a result, a PSO-based neural network approach is presented. The approach is demonstrated to be feasible and effective bypredicting some real air-quality problems.     

Application of cryofocusing hydride generation and atomic fluorescence detection for dissolved mercury species determination in natural water samples

The concentration levels of mercury (Hg) species in natural water samples are usually low. Consequently, accurate analysis with low detection limits is still a major problem. In this work, a method was applied for the simultaneous direct determination of dissolved mercury species in water samples by on-line hydride generation (HG), cryogenic trapping (CT), gas chromatography (GC) and detection by atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS). The suitability of the method for real samples with different organic matter and chloride contents was evaluated by recovery experiments in synthetic and natural spiked water samples. The HG method was compared with other current available methods for mercury analysis with respect to the different fraction of mercury analysed, i.e. 'reactive', 'reducible' or total. HG derivatization and SnCl2 reduction (with and without previous oxidation with BrCl) were applied to synthetic and natural (spiked and non-spiked) water samples. The influence of chloride and dissolved organic matter concentrations was studied. The results suggest that the HG procedure is suitable for the simultaneous determination of Hg2+ and MeHg+ in surface water samples. Inorganic mercury analysed by HG (i.e. reducible) is close to the total inorganic mercury.     

Cadmium and zinc source assessment in the Sepetiba Bay and basin region

Industrial and weathering inputs of Cd and Zn to the Sepetiba Bay and basin were assessed, based on production parameters obtained from local environment and industry authorities, and literature data. The results are compared with similar evaluations from other coastal regions and field data obtained in measuring Zn and Cd transport by rivers, direct run-off and atmospheric deposition in the region. Cadmium and zinc inputs to the bay increased by three orders of magnitude relative to pre-industrial fluxes and presently reach up to 1.6 and 180 tonnes per year for Cd and Zn, respectively, which represents a large input-to-area ratio, and explains the high concentration of these metals previously reported in the estuarine biota and sediments of Sepetiba Bay. Industrial activities, mainly metallurgical and chemical, comprise 94% and 84% of the total Cd and Zn inputs to the Bay. This figure identifies the point sources as being responsible for the environmental contamination and for regional poisoning risks.     

Scenario Analysis for the San Pedro River, Analyzing Hydrological Consequences of a Future Environment

Studies of future management and policy options based on different assumptions provide a mechanism to examine possible outcomes and especially their likely benefits and consequences. The San Pedro River in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico is an area that has undergone rapid changes in land use and cover, and subsequently is facing keen environmental crises related to water resources. It is the location of a number of studies that have dealt with change analysis, watershed condition, and most recently, alternative futures analysis. The previous work has dealt primarily with resources of habitat, visual quality, and groundwater related to urban development patterns and preferences. In the present study, previously defined future scenarios, in the form of land-use/land-cover grids, were examined relative to their impact on surface-water conditions (e.g., surface runoff and sediment yield). These hydrological outputs were estimated for the baseline year of 2000 and predicted twenty years in the future as a demonstration of how new geographic information system-based hydrologic modeling tools can be used to evaluate the spatial impacts of urban growth patterns on surface-water hydrology.