Technical Support Project for Cleaning Up Contaminated Sites- Issue Papers

Engineering Forum

2023

Conducting Climate Vulnerability Assessments at Superfund Sites

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed this issue paper to document lessons learned in conducting climate vulnerability assessments (CVAs) at sites on the National Priorities List. The goals of a CVA are to assess future changes in climate conditions at a site so they may be factored into site decision making; determine whether adaptation measures are necessary to improve remedy resilience; and ensure remedy protectiveness is maintained under future changes in climate.  A CVA may be performed by federal or state authorities or potentially responsible parties for any type of Superfund site at various stages of remediation. This document can also be accessed in SEMS when available.

2017

Ecosystem Services at Contaminated Site Cleanups

2014

May 2014
In Situ Thermal Treatment Technologies: Lessons Learned

2013

EPA 542-F-13-001, March 2013
Sustainable Materials Management in Site Cleanup

2011

Obtaining Assistance from the EPA Technical Support Centers
A guide to obtaining assistance from the EPA Technical Support Centers.

2008

EPA 600-R-08-115, October 2008
Indoor Air Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Approaches
This paper is focused on the mitigation of vapor intrusion to prevent human exposure to anthropogenic soil and groundwater contaminants. The document is designed to provide sufficient information to allow the reader to understand the range of mitigation technologies available. The document also provides information on selecting appropriate technologies in consultation with qualified engineering and risk management professionals.

EPA 542-F-08-003, April 2008
Online Hazardous Waste Cleanup Technical Resources
This issue paper is intended to give the reader examples of some online technical resources that can assist with hazardous waste cleanups in the Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Brownfields programs. Given the dynamics of online resources, this paper provides only a snapshot of the resources available at the time of publication.

2006

EPA 542-F-06-013, November 2006
In Situ Treatment Technologies for Contaminated Soil
This issue paper provides summary information on a wide variety of in situ technologies for the treatment of contaminated soil in both the vadose zone and saturated and unsaturated zones. It presents information on common practices such as soil vapor extraction and bioventing and, less frequently used technologies such as in situ thermal treatment. The paper includes a basic description of the technology, its implementation, applicability based on contaminants and site characteristics, general limitations, costs, and status of the technology's application.

EPA 625-R-06-014, October 2006
Management and Treatment of Water from Hard Rock Mines
The purpose of this document is to present the “state of the science” regarding management and treatment of hard-rock mines.

EPA 600-R-06-072, August 2006
In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (PDF) (60pp, 2.5 MB)
This Engineering Issue Paper is intended to provide remedial project managers (RPMs), on-scene coordinators (OSCs), contractors, and other state, industry, or private remediation managers with information to assist in the evaluation and possible selection of appropriate in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) remedial alternatives.

2004

Introduction to Energy Conservation and Production at Waste Cleanup Sites
This issue paper, prepared by EPA’s Engineering Forum under the Technical Support Project, provides an overview on the considerations for energy conservation and production during the design and operation and maintenance (O&M) phases of waste cleanup projects. The paper presents four case studies highlighting energy conservation or production, including a site using landfill generated methane gas directed to operate microturbines. The issue paper also introduces an “energy checklist” as a suggested tool to help project managers consider energy conservation or production at their sites.

2002

Proven Alternatives for Aboveground Treatment of Arsenic in Groundwater
This issue paper, developed for EPA's Engineering Forum, identifies and summarizes experiences with proven aboveground treatment alternatives for arsenic in groundwater, and provides information on their relative effectiveness and cost. The four technologies included in the report are precipitation/coprecipitation, adsorption, ion exchange, and membrane filtration. The report describes the theory and operation of each technique, available project-specific performance and cost data, and limitations. The report also discusses special considerations for retrofitting systems to meet the lower arsenic drinking water standard (maximum contaminant level or MCL) of 10 ug/l.

More arsenic treatment information is available at http://clu-in.org/arsenic.

1997

January 1997, EPA 540-F-95-031
Thermal Desorption Implementation Issues

January 1997, EPA 540-F-95-030
Soil Vapor Extraction Implementation Experiences

1995

Determination of Background Concentrations of Inorganics in Soils and Sediments at Hazardous Waste Sites

1993

December 1993, EPA 540-S-93-502
In Situ Bioremediation of Vadose Zone Soils (SPRD-Ada)

December 1993, EPA 540-S-94-500
Considerations in Deciding to Treat Contaminated Unsaturated Soils In Situ

1992

April 1992
Superfund Technical Review Process (Ground Water & Engineering Forums)

September 1992, EPA 540-S-92-014
Considerations for Conducting Treatability Studies to Evaluate the Impact of Metals Partitioning During the Incineration of Contaminated Soils From Superfund Sites (RREL)

October 1992, EPA 540-R-92-073
Construction Quality Management for Remedial Action and Remedial Design Waste Containment Systems (RREL)

1991

July 1991
Data Gaps in Remedial Design (USACE)

April 1991, EPA 540/2-91/009
Treatment of Lead-Contaminated Soils (RREL)

February 1991, EPA 540/2-91/004
Issues Affecting the Applicability and Success of Remedial/Removal Incineration Projects (RREL)

Federal Facilities Forum

 

2012

January 2012, EPA 505-S-11-001
Site Characterization For Munitions Constituents
The Federal Facilities Forum prepared this issue paper to provide remedial project managers and other federal, state, and private personnel working on hazardous waste sites the technical information needed to make decisions regarding the nature of energetic residues on Department of Defense training ranges (and other munitions sites such as Formerly Used Defense Sites), sampling strategies that provide representative samples, and analytical methods developed to characterize these samples.

2005

May 2005, EPA 542-R-05-015
Perchlorate Treatment Technology Update
This issue paper has been prepared by EPA's Federal Facilities Forum to provide information about technologies available for treatment of perchlorate contamination in environmental media, including technologies that have been used to date and others that show potential for treating such contamination. Furthermore, this paper provides site-specific information on 51 projects where treatment technologies have been or are being applied for full-scale treatment or field demonstrations. A brief overview of key perchlorate issues, including health effects and risks, regulatory standards and cleanup levels, degradation processes, and treatment technologies, is provided to give the reader context. However, these issues are not addressed in depth in this paper.

1999

May 1999, EPA 600-S-99-002
Field Sampling And Selecting On-site Analytical Methods For Explosives In Water

1996

November 1996, EPA 540-R-97-501
Field Sampling and Selecting On-Site Analytical Methods for Explosives in Soil

Ground Water Forum

2018

EPA 542-F-18-002, April 2018
In Situ Treatment Performance Monitoring: Issues and Best Practices (PDF) (15pp)

2017

EPA 600-R-17-293, September 2017
Best Practices for Environmental Site Management: A Practical Guide for Applying Environmental Sequence Stratigraphy to Improve Conceptual Site Models (PDF) (62pp)

2016

EPA-542-F-16-005, September 2016
Best Practices for Environmental Site Management: Recommended Contents of a Groundwater Monitoring Report (PDF) (10pp)

2015

EPA-542-F-15-010, April 2015
Ground Water Technical Considerations during the Five-Year Review Process

2012

EPA-600-R-12-049, August 2012
Ground Water Sample Preservation at In-Situ Chemical Oxidation Sites – Recommended Guidelines

2008

EPA-540-R-06-072, July 2008
ECO Update / Groundwater Forum Issue Paper: Evaluating Ground-Water/Surface-Water Transition Zones in Ecological Risk Assessments

2004

EPA 600-R-04-054, May 2004
Fingerprint Analysis of Contaminant Data: A Forensic Tool for Evaluating Environmental Contamination

2002

EPA 542-S-02-001, May 2002
Ground-Water Sampling Guidelines for Superfund and RCRA Project Managers

2001

EPA 540-S-01-500, February 2001
Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Ground Water at Hazardous Waste Sites

2000

EPA 542-R-00-007, July 2000
Proceedings of the Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interactions Workshop

1999

EPA 540-S-98-500, April 1999
Fundamentals of Soil Science as Applicable to Management of Hazardous Wastes

1998

EPA 540-S-97-505, January 1998
Steam Injection For Soil And Aquifer Remediation

1997

EPA 540-S-97-502, April 1997
How Heat Can Enhance In-Situ Soil and Aquifer Remediation

1996

EPA 540-S-95-504, April 1996
Low-Flow (Minimal Drawdown) Ground-Water Sampling Procedures

1995

EPA 540-S-95-500, July 1995
Light Nonaqueous Liquids

EPA 540-S-95-503, July 1995
Nonaqueous Phase Liquids Compatibility With Materials Used in Well Construction, Sampling, and Remediation

1994

EPA 540-S-94-505, October 1994
Natural Attenuation of Hexavalent Chromium in Groundwater and Soils

1993

EPA 540-S-93-503, February 1993
Suggested Operating Procedures for Aquifer Pumping Tests

1992

EPA 540-S-92-001, January 1992
Chemical Enhancements to Pump-and-Treat Remediation

EPA 540-S-92-002, January 1992
TCE Removal From Contaminated Soil and Ground Water

EPA 540-S-92-003, February 1992
In-Situ Bioremediation of Contaminated Ground Water

EPA 540-S-92-004, April 1992
Evaluation of Soil Venting Application

EPA 540-S-92-005, April 1992
Fundamentals of Ground-Water Modeling

EPA 540-S-92-019 August 1992
Potential Sources of Error in Groundwater Sampling at Hazardous Wastes Sites

EPA 540-S-92-018, October 1992
Behavior of Metals in Soils

EPA 540-S-91-005, August 1992
Survey of Laboratory Studies Relating to the Sorption/Desorption of Contaminants on Selected Well Casing Materials (EMSL-LV)

April 1992
Monitoring Well Development Guidelines for Superfund Project Managers

April 1992
Superfund Technical Review Process

1991

EPA/540/4-90/054, January 1991
Reductive Dehalogenation of Organic Contaminants in Soils and Ground Water

EPA/540/4-91/002, March 1991
Dense Nonaqueous Phase Liquids

EPA/540/4-91/003, March 1991
Characterizing Soils for Hazardous Waste Site Assessment

1990

EPA/540/4-90/053, October 1990
Basic Concepts of Contaminant Sorption at Hazardous Waste Sites

1989

EPA 540/4-89/001, March 1989
Ground Water Sampling for Metal Analyses

EPA 540/4-89/002, March 1989
Accuracy of Depth to Water Measurements

EPA 540/4-89/003, August 1989
Facilitated Transport

EPA 540/4-89/004, August 1989
Contaminant Transport in Fractured Media: Models for Decision Makers

EPA 540/4-89/005, October 1989
Performance Evaluations of Pump-and-Treat Remediations