Panel Sessions

The Asbestos panel session will provide a follow-up to the Promoting Consistency in Sampling and Cleanup of Asbestos Sites panel held at the 2004 NARPM Annual Training Conference. This session will be an interactive forum to explore the advances made by the Agency to investigate and evaluate asbestos as well as the accompanying policy implications. The methods associated with investigating and evaluating sites potentially contaminated with asbestos have evolved over the past several years. The Agency has recently formed a new technical workgroup to ensure that technical advances are incorporated into agency guidance and policy. The purpose of this panel is to:

• Provide an update on current and proposed policy changes
• Provide technical information to RPMs on advances in sampling and analysis associated with asbestos investigations through presentations and case study examples
• Solicit questions and concerns from RPMs regarding asbestos issues

Presentations related to the technical advances in asbestos investigation and evaluation will focus on activity-based sampling in a field-setting, a surrogate laboratory-based method, as well as a discussion of new analytical guidance for asbestos analysis. The presentations will be supplemented with case studies to illustrate how the new methodologies have been employed.

The Attorney and RPM panel session will provide an interactive forum for discussing ways to establish better working relationships between RPMs and attorneys. This is the only forum currently available as a national attorney and RPM exchange. The panel session will include regional attorneys who will provide an in-depth perspective of the program. Topics that will be covered during the panel session include:

• Discussion and or role-playing on conflict resolution. At the 2004 NARPM Annual Training Conference, there were discussions about some of the major areas of conflict in the RPM and attorney working relationship. Building on that discussion and the feedback that was received, the panel has endeavored to craft an interactive conflict resolution component.
• Discussion of specific case studies of RPMs and attorneys working together to accomplish site cleanup, including an analysis of lessons learned and recommendations for improving RPMs' relationships with their attorneys.
• Possibly perform and discuss personality profile compatibility, as related to the RPMs and attorneys working together in a constructive manner. At the 2004 NARPM Annual Training Conference, the course entitled "Leveraging your Knowledge, Skills and Abilities" explored personality traits and discussed them in terms of setting and working towards one's career goals. The Attorney and RPM panel envisions refocusing this type of exercise toward analyzing the intra-office relationships.

The Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPL) Remediation panel session will provide further discussion of the topics addressed during the DNAPL Remediation paper discussion. These topics include:

• Uncertainty in estimating the extent of DNAPL source zone
• Realistic remedial expectations for DNAPL source zones
• Management of source zones and research priorities

Restoration of ground water quality to its maximum beneficial use has been, and continues to be, a core concept of the Superfund remedial program. The complete accomplishment of this cleanup objective has been found to be costly to implement, protracted in effort, and uncertain in outcome. Problematic sites are usually ones with ground water plumes that have DNAPL sources zones. While technical progress has been made regarding the characterization and remediation of DNAPL sources, the conduct of both of these activities continues to be debated.

The Design and Construction Issues panel session will discuss the issues addressed at a two-day Design and Construction Issues at Hazardous Waste Sites Conference held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in April 2006. As the EPA Superfund program continues to mature, many sites are in or are entering the remedial design and remedial action (RD/RA) phase. In recognition of this fact, EPA is focusing more resources on educating staff about the project management issues surrounding design and construction as well as the various technologies used during RD/RA. A panel of EPA staff, including Branch Chiefs in Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7, will provide a summary of the following conference topics:

• The use of Value Engineering and ground water technologies when implementing permeable reactive barriers
• The use of in-situ bioremediation for hexavalent chromium and treatment trains for advanced ground water treatment systems
• The use of the Department of Defense Ground Water Modeling System and FEMWATER Numerical Model for ground water remediation optimization
• The process of Vapor Extraction
• The uses of Photo-Covers
• An update of Department of Transportation regulations and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers procedures for off-site transport of remediation wastes

The panel also will provide an overview of advanced project management and the appropriate application of Appropriate and Cost-Effective Application of Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazardous Waste Operations Standard to hazardous waste site construction and operation and maintenance activities.

The Institutional Controls Update panel session will lead participants in an in-depth and interactive discussion on issues, problems, and lessons learned regarding critical institutional controls (IC). To help facilitate a full discussion, participants will be asked to come prepared with specific examples of issues they have faced. Participants are encouraged to prepare a brief written summary of specific IC-related issues prior to the course. Ideas, solutions, or best practices that are generated during the sessions will be captured as follow-up after the conference. The presentation will cover the following topics:

• Regional perspective implementing the IC strategy
• IC Tools - update on policy and guidance developments
• Governmental controls - state and local authorities
• Real property law and procedure for RPMs

The Partial Deletions panel session will provide a discussion regarding the partial deletion of land parcels from National Priorities List (NPL) sites and ways to improve the reuse potential of the property. EPA has become aware that uncontaminated parcels of land are often included within Superfund site definitions, which can create barriers that delay the reuse of these parcels. Removing a parcel of land from an NPL site has several implications for the reuse potential of the property, including reducing lender concerns and making the property eligible for Brownfields funding. Currently, there are four approaches EPA regions are using to remove parcels from NPL sites, including partial deletions, Record of Decision amendments, Explanation of Significant Differences, and memoranda to the Administrative Record. This panel will discuss the following topics:

• The approaches available to RPMs for delisting a parcel of an NPL site
• The regional perspective and experiences in using different approaches
• An overview of potential benefits and issues of different approaches (e.g., administrative efficiency, NPL stigma)
• Discussion of future needs including the development of tools or guidance

The Perchlorate panel session will provide participants an opportunity to share their experiences regarding perchlorate-related issues at their sites. Superfund sites cannot always wait for a definitive rulemaking on a chemical contaminant before an action is taken. Over the last 9 years, there have been a series of advisories and toxicological estimates regarding perchlorate from various Federal, state, and stakeholder authorities. There has been a strong reluctance to look for perchlorate at a site, including a restrictive government sampling policy. The uncertainties befogging perchlorate issues often pose enormous challenges to communicate intelligibly with communities, states, and potential responsible parties.

Experienced RPMs, OSCs, and managers from all regions who have encountered perchlorate at their sites are encouraged to discuss how the contamination was discovered; how the presence of perchlorate complicated planned and ongoing remediation projects; the cleanup decisions and the considerations that were factored into the decision; lessons learned; and overall treatment costs and effectiveness.

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Paper Discussions

The Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (DNAPL) Remediation paper discussion will explore such topics as:

• Uncertainty in estimating the extent of DNAPL source zone
• Realistic remedial expectations for DNAPL source zones
• Management of source zones and research priorities

Restoration of ground water quality to its maximum beneficial use has been, and continues to be, a core concept of the Superfund remedial program. The complete accomplishment of this cleanup objective has been found to be costly to implement, protracted in effort, and uncertain in outcome. Problematic sites are usually ones with ground water plumes that have DNAPL sources zones. While technical progress has been made regarding the characterization and remediation of DNAPL source, the conduct of both of these activities continues to be debated.

The Ground Water paper discussion will consist of four presentations:

• The Ground Water Pump & Treat System Optimization Experiences at the Massachusetts Military Reservation Superfund Site presentation will present best practices that have been developed in more than 10 years of ground water pump and treat experiences at the Massachusetts Military Reservation/Otis Air Force Base Superfund Site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. At this site, more than 12 millions gallons a day of contaminated ground water is treated at several treatment systems that are remediating 14 plumes. Practices to be presented will include monitoring, ground water modeling, system optimization, and reporting.
• The Sulfate Reduction PRB Technology Cost Effective Ground Water Remedy Stoller Site, Charleston, South Carolina presentation will discuss the permeable reactive barrier (PRB) technology in greater detail. The following elements will be discussed: cleanup efforts, techniques, and cost-saving approaches including sulfate reduction technologies, permeable reactive barriers, and environmental monitoring. Ground water at the Stoller Chemical site in Charleston County, SC is similar to acid mine drainage sites with an acidic pH, high sulfate, aluminum, zinc, and cadmium. Pump and treat was initiated in the heart of the plume to contain the source. The operations and maintenance costs of the system are approximately $400,000 a year. With the help of the EPA Technology Support Project, an in-situ technology consisting of a permeable sulfate reduction reactive barrier was identified as potentially viable for the site. Longevity estimates for the system indicate it will likely meet performance goals for 15 to 20 years. A feasibility study is being performed to determine the total cost savings of the PRB, but initial estimates indicate a cost savings of at least 4 million dollars over the life of the treatment system.
• The Treatment Cell Supplement to a Permeable Reactive Barrier: Performance Assessment Monitoring presentation will discuss the effectiveness of a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) containing 300 tons of zero valent iron (ZVI) filings installed at a former uranium milling site near Monticello, Utah. The PRB has 3 zones consisting of (from up gradient): 2 ft of gravel/ZVI mixture, 4 ft of ZVI, and 2 ft of gravel. Ground water samples and water level data have been collected at regular intervals from more than 50 wells in the PRB.
  
  Satisfactory performance of the PRB requires that contaminant concentrations are lowered to regulated levels, a high proportion of the ambient ground water flow is treated, and that there are no adverse effects to land use. Contaminant concentrations remain low in most wells in the ZVI zone to satisfy the first criterion. Attainment of the second and third criteria is less certain, however, due to a continuously rising ground water mound behind the PRB. This occurrence is likely coupled to an order of magnitude loss of permeability as determined by serial gas-injection slug tests, presumably due to observed mineral precipitation in the ZVI zone. As a result, a very shallow water table now threatens crop production and the proportion of treated ground water may have decreased significantly from an initial mass-balance estimate of 4 to 5 gallons per minute. Flux estimates based on Darcian principles are limited by high spatial and temporal variability. The costs of construction and operation of the treatment cell are very favorable and the long-term maintenance costs for the treatment cell are relatively minor. The amount of data required to confirm the performance of the treatment cell is much less than the amount required to confirm the performance of the existing PRB at a similar level of confidence.
• The Use of Hydrogen Releasing Compounds to Treat Chlorinated Solvents in Ground Water Aircraft Components, Inc. Site in Benton Harbor, Michigan presentation will discuss considerations taken into account when choosing the remedy, how to interpret the sample results for site contaminants and bioremediation parameters, how the projected costs compare to traditional pump-and-treat remedies, and the success of the remedy thus far. The effect on the river adjacent to the site and the parameters being monitored in surface water will also be described.
  
  When EPA first assessed the Aircraft Components site, five dilapidated structures housing hundreds of radium-painted airplane gauges were found. The gauges were among the many parts from World War II aircrafts that the former owner was in the business of buying and selling. After removing the radioactive waste and decontaminating the site, the attention was focused on the chlorinated solvent plume in ground water beneath the site. The selected remedial approach uses two types of hydrogen-releasing compounds to stimulate degradation of chlorinated solvents via reductive de-chlorination. A total of 423 injection points were used to introduce the compounds into the aquifer. In addition to site contaminants, bioremediation parameters in ground water and surface water are being monitored and interpreted to assess the effectiveness of the remedy. The results received to date have been very encouraging.

The Institutional Controls/Redevelopment paper discussion will consist of two presentations.

• The Radon Performance Standard Institutional Controls that Run with the Land at the Teledyne Wah Chang (TWC) Superfund Site presentation will discuss performance standard institutional controls for a piece of property contaminated with Radium 226 and Radium 228. The property is owned by the City of Millersburg, Oregon and part of the Teledyne Wah Chang Superfund Site. The institutional controls will address preventing radon inhalation by inhabitants of potential structures erected at the property.
  
  The TWC Superfund site is located in Millersburg, Oregon, adjacent to the city of Albany and is one of two facilities in the country that manufacture zirconium metal. Operations at TWC began in 1956. In 1989-90, Teledyne Wah Chang transferred the Soil Amendment Area to the City of Millersburg (City) in exchange for a piece of property contiguous to their Farm Ponds area. The facility covers approximately 225 acres near the Willamette River. The TWC facility is divided into a 110-acre main plant area and a 115-acre Farm Ponds area that was used for the past storage of sludges, wastewater, and manufacturing residues. The zirconium manufacturing operation consists of numerous production facilities used for the extraction and refining of zirconium and hafnium metals from zircon sands, with a small amount of tantalum, columbium, titanium, and vanadium metals also being produced. The processing of the zircon sands generates sludge, waste water, residues and gases as by-products. Contaminants of concern at the site include radionuclides, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), and chlorinated organic solvents such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, and tetrachloroethylene. Primary contaminants of concern at the portion of the site with the institutional controls being discussed are radium 226 and radium 228.
  
  In order to have this 60-acre parcel ready for reuse, the City has presently entered into a consent decree with EPA that includes a City Radon Ordinance and an easement and equitable servitude that would allow the institutional controls to run with the land. Through negotiations with the City, the institutional controls allow for greater flexibility in protecting building occupants from radon inhalation through various options, including provisions for passive and active radon-resistant construction, radon testing in future buildings and, if needed, further remedial design/remedial action (soil berming). This presentation will further detail these alternatives for radon protection within the institutional controls and will also discuss how these performance-based institutional controls are implemented through enforcement, government, and proprietary requirements.
• The Turning Bases into Great Places: New Life for Closed Military Facilities presentation will describe the practices recommended in EPA's new guidebook, "Turning Bases into Great Places: New Life for Closed Military Facilities," and will illustrate how the practices have been successfully used in redeveloping bases closed in previous BRAC rounds. Case studies that will be discussed include the former Naval Training Center in Orlando, Florida; the former Naval Training Center in San Diego, California; the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado; and the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
  
  A number of military bases around the country have been targeted for closure, and many will be made available for redevelopment. Communities may need to move relatively quickly to develop reuse plans for these properties, and regulatory agencies that oversee cleanup activities will need to adapt to changing circumstances. EPA published the guidebook for communities on how to develop environmentally-sound reuse plans. This guidebook also provides information on smart growth principles that communities can use to develop a vision of how a redeveloped base can enhance their neighborhoods, economy, and environment. It offers ideas for communities to weave this vision into the redevelopment process to create a reuse plan that is fair and economically successful, provides people with choices, and enjoys broad public support. Local governments, community members, and others can use this guidebook to pursue base reuse that:
• Creates vibrant neighborhoods
• Brings amenities to residents and the surrounding neighborhoods
• Provides a balanced mix of jobs and housing
• Capitalizes on historic, cultural, and natural assets
• Protects environmental resources
• Becomes embraced by the community

The Mining paper discussion will consist of three presentations:

• The Anaconda Copper Mine/Yerington presentation will present an overview of the site investigation approach used to identify the extent of radiological contamination at the Anaconda Copper Mine Yerington Site in Nevada. The 3,400 acre Anaconda Copper Mine/Yerington Site consists of an open pit, tailings piles, mill buildings, waste and evaporation ponds, and covers. From 1918 until 1978, the site was a low-grade copper mine and milling operation. Following the closure of the mine, the site was sold to a local citizen who used it for extracting copper from the tailing piles as well as a metal salvage facility for electrical transformers containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB). In 1988, the property was sold to Arizona Metals Company (Aritmetco) which set up a heap leach operation using mine tailings and ore from the nearby MacArthur Pit. Arimetco went bankrupt in 1997, ceased operations, and abandoned the site in 2000 leaving ongoing acidic rock drainage from 5 unclosed heap leach pads from 100 to 175 feet high across the site.
  
  This session will discuss the results from the December 2003 to June 2005 surface radiological survey of the process areas and soil sampling from areas of elevated radiation; a walkover screening survey of the evaporation ponds conducted in December 2003; as well as EPA's scanner van-conducted surveys on the mine site and in adjacent areas where mine materials we used for construction conducted in April 2005.
• The Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Facility Second Five-Year Review presentation will present how the recently completed five-year review was conducted at the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site located in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington. Included in the presentation will be:
  • The steps taken to conduct a review at this mega-site
  • How a team of RPM, external stakeholders, and the public were involved in the process
  • The results of the review and key follow-up actions
  • The cost of the review
  • Lessons learned to be applied for the next five-year review
  
  The Bunker Hill Superfund Site is within one of the largest historical mining districts in the world. Heavy metals contamination in soil, sediment, surface water, and ground water from over 100 years of commercial mining, milling, and smelting has impacted both human health and environmental resources. Two five-year reviews have been completed for this site. The first was completed in September 2000. The second five-year review, the focus of this presentation, was completed in October 2005. The review confirmed that remedial actions are or will be protective of human health and the environment provided that key follow-up actions are carried out. These follow-up actions and other findings of the review are detailed in the final report and will be summarized in this presentation.
• The Isotopic and Hydrogeologic Characterization of Ground Waters, Mine Pools, and the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, Leadville, Colorado presentation will discuss the implementation of hydraulic control elements designed to contain and control mine pool water and the investigative events that lead up to the design. This session will present preliminary conclusions based on work completed as of November 2004.
  
  The 3385-meter long Leadville Mine Drain Tunnel (LMDT) was completed in 1952 to create a free-draining tunnel to dewater existing and future mine workings in the Leadville Mining District in the mountains of central Colorado. Since 1952, mining has been discontinued in the Leadville district and the physical condition of the LMDT, which discharges approximately 82 liters per second (l/s), has deteriorated significantly. Roof falls have resulted in blockages which cause water to pool up, increasing the hydraulic head. and presenting a potential blowout problem. Using its authority under Superfund, EPA is planning to implement a number of hydraulic control elements that are designed to contain and control mine pool water. To support this work, EPA has completed a rigorous hydrogeologic characterization aimed at developing a sound conceptual understanding of the hydrologic and geologic conditions that control inflow of ground water to the underground workings being evaluated and the outflow of water from these workings. This investigation indicates that the LMDT drains only a small volume of mine pool water and a very large volume of bedrock and/or alluvial ground water. As a result of this investigation, the conceptual understandings related to the nature and extent of the regional bedrock flow system in a highly perturbed, structurally complex geologic setting has been greatly enhanced. The hydrogeologic investigation included:
  • Hydrogeologic mapping to assess geologic controls on ground water flow pathways and the hydrology of underground workings
  • Drilling, coring, installing, and sampling five monitoring wells in the LMDT
  • Using stable and radioactive isotope data as an aid in determining relative ages and sources of water to underground workings
  • Tracing using fluorescent dyes (injection of tracer into tunnel wells and monitoring breakthrough curves)
  • Using End Member Mixing Analysis and Principle Component Analysis as an aid in determining sources of water to the underground workings

The Sediment paper discussion will consist of three presentations:

• The Dredging to Clean Sediment at Two Superfund Shipyards presentation will discuss the dredging activities that occurred at the Lockheed Shipyard Sediments Operable Unit (LSSOU) and Todd Shipyard Sediments Operable Unit (TSSOU). Both operable units are part of the Harbor Island Superfund Site in Seattle, Washington. Construction of both shipyards started in the 1920s. Shipbuilding and ship maintenance activities at the shipyards have resulted in the direct disposal of waste into sediments adjacent to the shipyard. Much of the waste is believed to have originated from sandblasting, which is a process used to remove paint and paint preparations containing copper, lead, mercury, tributyltin, and zinc. Other contaminants of concern released from the shipyards include arsenic, polychorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Large amounts of debris from almost a century of shipbuilding and maintenance exists throughout the sediment column.
  
  The remedy for both shipyards called for dredging to specified cleanup numbers, removal of debris, pier demolition, and enhancement of the intertidal habitat. Dredging at LSSOU was very problematic for the first dredging season due to extensive amounts of debris, resulting in increased extent and magnitude of the contamination. However, a different dredging approach was used at TSSOU due to the lessons learned at LSSOU. As a result, over 35 acres were dredged at TSSOU to achieve cleanup levels. The approach was adopted at LSSOU and achieved cleanup levels during their second season of dredging. The presentation will discuss characteristics of these two OUs that ultimately led to successful dredging, the problems associated with dredging to "clean" contaminated sediments and methods to overcome them, and finally, contracting approaches that support successful field construction activities.
• The Enhanced Sedimentation Project for Mercury Contaminated Sediments at Olin Corporation McIntosh Plant presentation will discuss the remedial alternatives selected for operable unit 2 at the Olin Corporation McIntosh Plant. From 1952 until 1982, the Olin Corporation McIntosh Plant in McIntosh, Alabama produced chlorinated organic pesticides, chlorine, caustic soda, and sodium hypochlorite onsite. Presently, Olin produces chlorine, caustic soda, sodium hypochlorite, and blends and stores hydrazine compounds at the site. Past wastewater discharges containing mercury resulted in contamination in a discharge channel (wastewater ditch) and floodplain areas including a basin adjacent to the Tombigbee River. The wastewater ditch, the floodplain areas, and the basin are included in Operable Unit 2 (OU-2).
  
  OU-2 consists of a 220-acre floodplain, including the wastewater ditch (approximately 3,000 linear feet) and a basin (approximately 76 acres). Mercury, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) are present in sediments, surface water, and aquatic animals (fish and benthic invertebrates) in OU-2. A Remedial Action at OU-2 is necessary to reduce the ecological risks.
  
  The 1996 Feasibility Study Report for OU-2 lists 8 remedial alternatives for the basin and 6 remedial alternatives for the wastewater ditch at the Olin OU-2 site. Proposed costs for these remedial alternatives range from $0 to $20 million. The $20 million alternative cost estimate covered the dredging and disposal of mercury contaminated sediments at levels of 50 mg/kg (parts per million) and higher. Only 25 percent of OU-2 would be dredged.
  
  Another alternative, Enhanced Sedimentation, was proposed by Olin in 2003. The theory behind this alternative is that natural sedimentation can be enhanced by building an earthen berm around the majority of OU-2. The earthen berm will hold water within OU-2 for a length of time, thus allowing suspended sediments to drop evenly across the site and form a natural cap for the contaminated sediments. Natural sedimentation occurs when the Tombigbee River floods its banks and carries fine grained (silt and clay) sediments into OU-2. EPA has planned a pilot project to test this theory.
• The 2005 New Bedford Harbor (free)Pilot Underwater Capping Study presentation will describe the creation of the Confined Aquatic Disposal (CAD) cell that provided the clean cap material, the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the capped site; and the challenges of placing the cap in shallow water. It will also describe the evaluative monitoring performed to date and plans for future monitoring.
  
  A 1998 Record of Decision (ROD) for New Bedford Harbor calls for the removal of approximately 900,000 cubic yards of highly PCB-contaminated sediment in the upper and lower harbor. Fullscale dredging, dewatering and offsite disposal began in 2004, and, together with earlier accelerated cleanups, approximately 100,000 cubic yards have been addressed to date. Three upper harbor confined disposal facilities (CDFs) may also be used in addition to offsite disposal. A 1979 state fishing ban covering 18,000 acres with PCB-contaminated seafood remains in effect until the harbor cleanup is complete.
  
  In 2005, 19 acres of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated sediment in New Bedford's outer harbor were capped with 84,000 cubic yards of clean sandy material from an inner harbor navigational CAD (confined aquatic disposal) cell. Rather than disposing of the clean CAD material offshore, which had been approved, EPA collaborated closely with the port to make use of the clean material locally as part of the pilot capping study. The port agreed to pay for the engineering and placement of the cap material, provided such costs were not greater than that required for offshore disposal. As a result, EPA funding was not required to place the cap, and the remediation of the PCB-contaminated area was accelerated by many years.

The Soil paper discussion will consist of three presentations:

• The Innovations and Lessons Learned at the NL Industries Site in Granite City, Illinois presentation will discuss a former secondary lead smelter that released lead to the environment through stack emissions, crushed hard rubber battery case material that was given away as fill, and fugitive emissions from a 250,000 ton slag pile. The cleanup ultimately addressed 1600 residential yards and cost approximately $60,000,000.
  
  The audience will be presented with some innovative approaches and technologies that were used at the site, as well as several lessons learned.
  

  Innovations	Lessons learned
  Supplemental Environmental Project Superfund Job Training Institute HEPA street sweeping	Soil sampling Interior HEPA vacuuming access problems Paint

• The In-House Characterization of the Jacobsville Neighborhood Soil Contamination Site presentation will provide an overview of the project, cost savings, data analysis, and software used at the Jacobsville Neighborhood Soil Contamination Site. The Jacobsville Neighborhood Contamination Site is a National Priorities List (NPL) site in Southern Indiana that has historical, air-deposited lead contaminated soils. The site has no viable potentially responsible parties (PRP). Using the Handbook and EPA-owned equipment, the Region 5 RPM and technical support staff (Fully Integrated Environmental Location Decision Support [FIELDS] group) were able to create the site characterization sampling designs and perform the site characterization sampling entirely in-house. This resulted in significant cost savings for Region 5.
  
  The sample design was created using the FIELDS Software, which was developed in Region 5. Sampling designs were a random grid design, with each successive sampling event defining the extent of contamination more thoroughly. Region 5 personnel used two regionally-owned Niton model portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) units to take in-field concentrations, and sent 20 percent of the samples to the EPA Central Regional Laboratory for confirmation (e.g., calibration regression). Sampling priorities were adjusted in the field (dynamic decision-making) by using the FIELDS' Risk Assessment Tool (RAT) software that can collect and combine XRF and Global Positioning System (GPS) readings in real-time and display these results on the laptop screen.
• The Field Sampling and Analysis: Split sampling plans, Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) oversight, Tentatively Identified Compounds (TIC) and What To Do With All the Data? presentation will provide a brief discussion of initial design of a sampling plan that includes a duplicate sampling strategy component. The need for incorporating this important element into the remedial investigation (RI) phase will be discussed. The presentation will include a review of the split sampling data, including what it means, how it can be used, statistics that should be considered, acceptance criteria that should be used, and additional sampling needs that might still be required. The RI performed at the Casmalia Superfund Site in California will be used as a case study example. This project required sampling of more than 2,700 site locations for more than 600 chemicals of concern. It was critical to ensure that QA/QC oversight and a split sampling procedure was in place at this PRP-lead site. This case study will serve as a basis for discussion of oversight factors that apply to investigations at other Superfund sites. Special consideration for how to handle TICs will also be included in the discussion.

The Triad Case Studies paper discussion will discuss lessons learned and tips for using the Triad approach for site cleanups. The Triad approach was developed by EPA and other federal partners to improve the quality of cleanup projects while simultaneously decreasing time and cost to site reuse. The panel will discuss how the Triad cleanup approach was successfully used at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California to characterize site contamination and how the Triad approach is now being used to expedite Record of Decision remedy selection.

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Information Sessions

The Applying the New Cancer Guidelines information session will provide an overview of the new cancer guidelines and supplemental guidance for assessing risk at waste sites. In 2005, EPA released the Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment ("Cancer Guidelines") and Supplemental Guidance for Assessing Susceptibility from Early-Life Exposure to Carcinogens ("Supplemental Guidance"). The Supplemental Guidance is part of EPA's response to the recommendation by the National Research Council that "EPA should assess risks to infants and children whenever it appears that their risks might be greater than those of adults." For several potential carcinogens, there is evidence of higher cancer risks following early-life exposure. Addressing the susceptibility of early-life exposures in risk characterization provides important information for risk managers to consider when determining the need for action. Participants will review the handbook, developed by the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response in conjunction with the regions. The handbook includes spreadsheets, questions and answers, and other tools for applying the Cancer Guidelines and Supplemental Guidance at waste sites.

The Federal Facilities information session will provide participants with current information on a number of new initiatives underway in the Federal Facility Program. This session will:

• Provide an update regarding the Munitions Hazard Assessment project which EPA is currently working on with other federal agencies; the presentation will include information contained in the recently issued Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Guidance
• Provide an update on the Military Munitions Response Program
• Discuss the new electronic Streamlined Record of Decision process from RPMs who are piloting it at their sites
• Provide insights into current activities and issues ongoing in the Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office (FFRRO), including relevant updates on perchlorate, the status of the workgroup addressing Federal facility issues under the One Cleanup Program, and an update on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 2005
• Update participants on and discuss the Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) guidance prepared by FFRRO

The Financial Assurance information session will provide a forum for participants to hear about ongoing efforts to assess and analyze information on financial assurance, a topic which has become an increasing interest to the General Accountability Office (GAO), the Inspector General (IG), and Capitol Hill. The 120-day study prepared by EPA calls for the evaluation of facilities currently covered by financial assurance. The study also calls for EPA to assess whether financial assurance should be expanded to other facilities. This work is closely coordinated with other ongoing efforts to review the effectiveness of existing financial assurance for RCRA and financial assurance that is a part of settlement agreements. This session will:

• Summarize results of analyses undertaken by EPA and states on the subject of financial assurance
• Outline ongoing analysis efforts that will require collecting information and that also may include asking regions and probably states to help assemble information
• Summarize why financial assurance is an area of increasing emphasis
• Provide an opportunity for participants to help shape efforts in financial assurance for Superfund

The Ground Water Remedy Optimization information session will provide participants an overview of the process and benefits of remedy optimization and a relevant case study using in situ bioremediation. This session will be of particular interest to RPMs who are managing long-term response action projects as optimization reviews are essential in ensuring smooth transfer of projects to the states for operation and maintenance (O&M).

A pilot pump and treat (P&T) optimization initiative began in 2001, which encouraged systematic review and modification of Fund-lead P&T systems to promote continuous improvement and enhance overall remedy and cost effectiveness. In 2004, the Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation documented completion of this pilot by outlining a commitment to fully integrate optimization into the Superfund cleanup process ("Action Plan for Ground Water Remedy Optimization," OSWER 9283.1-25). This information session will be presented in two parts:

• The "Remedy Optimization in the Superfund Program" training is an overview of the process and benefits of optimization and will identify when it may be appropriate for a particular site. RPMs will learn about their role and responsibilities in all phases of optimization, from site selection to the implementation of recommended system changes.
• A discussion of a case study of the highly successful in situ bioremediation effort at the Selma Treating Company site where the traditional P&T remedy was supplemented with molasses injection in order to address a source area of 80,000 parts per billion of chromium VI. It is expected that this effort will reduce the overall P&T period of operation by several decades and will potentially result in estimated savings of more than $30 million.

The Implications of the New Arsenic Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) on Superfund Information information session will consist of four presentations:

• The How Could the Revised Arsenic MCL Affect My Superfund Site? presentation will discuss what RPMs should look for during each stage of the remedial process, from remedial investigations to five-year reviews. For example, how should background concentrations be considered at sites with an arsenic cleanup goal?
• The Using XRF presentation will provide a number of case histories that highlight both the benefits and the limitations of using X-Ray Fluorescence analyzer (XRF). RPMs utilizing an XRF to assess arsenic concentrations in soils can face a number of quality assurance challenges. Portable XRF units yield semi-quantitative results with detection limits ranging from a few parts per million (ppm) to a few hundred ppm depending on the soil matrix and the presence of other interfering metals such as lead. Differences in data quality are also produced by the various types of XRF instruments as well as the operator's skill. A number of advantages for the use of an XRF include field portability, the absence of investigation-derived waste, rapid field analysis, and low costs. Arsenic hot spots can be located with XRF data and targeted for additional sampling. During soil excavations conducted under remedial or removal actions, the XRF instrument is an excellent screening tool to guide the cleanup provided the final cut lines are supported by higher quality laboratory data.
  
  The assessment of XRF data can present a challenge when the concentrations are below the detection level of the instrument. A large number of non-detects prevents the calculation of a meaningful correlation coefficient as required by standard quality assurance procedures. Concentrations far above background will occasionally be found in older urban environments. Analysis techniques are available to determine whether these sporadic hits have an industrial or consumer product origin, and can be useful when discussing occasional high hits to the public. Special considerations should be made before releasing XRF data to property owners when it cannot be correlated with lab data.
• The Compiling State Cleanup Standards for Arsenic and Addressing Related Issues presentation will provide an interactive forum to discuss the following topics:
  • Ground water and soil cleanup standards for arsenic that have been developed by the states as potential ARARs to include addressing the basis for the standards; e.g. the risk level, exposure scenario, and background
  • An update of the 1998 paper by the Association for Environmental Health and Soils, "Study of State Soil Arsenic Regulations," which provides new information from the 16 states previously not represented in the paper
  • The supplement to the OSRTI arsenic survey of over 70 Superfund sites with additional information on the development of the cleanup standards.
• The Landfills and Arsenic: Potential for Groundwater Contamination presentation will discuss the multifaceted issue of arsenic contamination of ground water induced by past and future landfill operations. Because the same set of biological and geochemical processes cause the release of arsenic from materials disposed in landfills and from subsurface soils contacted by leachate plumes from landfills, arsenic contamination can arise both from arsenic-bearing wastes in a landfill as well as arsenic-bearing soils and minerals proximate to a landfill. The talk will focus primarily on the potential for contamination caused by the projected landfill disposal of arsenic-bearing solid residuals (ABSR) from drinking water treatment, but will also indicate the commonality between this contamination threat and that from landfill-induced release of natural arsenic in soils. The new arsenic MCL will cause an estimated 30,000 pounds of arsenic (as As) to be removed annually from drinking water. The bulk of this arsenic will be associated with solid sorbents and precipitates that are destined for non-hazardous landfill disposal. The talk will conclude with discussion of potential strategies for qualitatively predicting the likelihood of arsenic release and preventing or mitigating release where it is likely.

The National Hurricane Response information session will discuss the crucial roles filled by RPMs during the recent hurricane response, lessons learned, preparedness for future incidents of national significance, and the status of the current response from the RPM perspective. The EPA Superfund program, as well as the entire Agency, has responded to the Hurricane Katrina cleanup in unprecedented numbers and ways. EPA was present in the early stages of the response and cleanup. Today, EPA continues to respond in both Louisiana and Mississippi. By attending this session, participants will have the opportunity to discuss the following topics:

• Future training needs
• The impact on the Superfund program and other programs throughout EPA
• The roles RPMs filled during the hurricane response
• The effects of the response on the RPM community
• The RPM's role in future incidents of national significance

The Superfund Redevelopment Initiative information session will provide attendees with an update of the latest revisions to Superfund policies relative to redevelopment and a forum for discussion on the various tools and resources available to RPMs to enhance redevelopment efforts at their sites. A variety of redevelopment success stories from sites throughout the country will be presented and discussed. The presenters will provide a national, regional, programmatic, and legal perspective of reuse issues and will include time for questions from the attendees.

EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program helps communities return some of the nation's worst hazardous waste sites to safe and productive uses. While cleaning up these Superfund sites and making them protective of human health and the environment, the Agency is working with communities and other partners in considering future use opportunities and integrating appropriate reuse options into the cleanup process.

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