H I G H L I G H T S Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research LaboratoryLaboratory Status Report for the Week of February 20, 19951995 REGIONAL ASSISTANCE Technical Assistance to Region I: During a telephone conversation on January 9, 1995, RPM Chet Janowski requested review comments on the “Draft Remedial Action Evaluation Study” for the Gilson Road Superfund Site in Nashua, NH. On February 8, 1995, Randall Ross (RSKERL) and Dr. Milovan Beljin (Univ. of Cincinnati) stated that the document was well written and brought together the majority of historical and recent information collected at the site. The review also discussed a few areas which were not adequately addressed, including the presence of LNAPLs at the site, the consequences of discontinuing the operation of a pump-and-treat system, and the identification of potential avenues for ground-water flow in the vicinity of the slurry wall. (90-R01-007) (R. Ross(RSKERL)405-436-8611) Technical Assistance to Region IX: The J. H. Baxter site in Weed, CA, is an operating wood treating facility that has soil and ground water contaminated with creosote, pentachlorophenol, and metals. On January 24, 1995, RPM Kathy Setian requested continuing technical assistance at the facility by reviewing the “Groundwater Remedial Design Investigation Report” and the “Supplement to the 30% Soils Remedial Design.” The February 9, 1995, response was prepared by Steve Acree (RSKERL) and Dr. Daniel Pope (Dynamac). Although no major concerns were noted regarding the conceptual treatment design, several recommendations were offered, including ways of dealing with soils contaminated with naphthalene, the need to determine the most efficient thickness of soil lifts for bioremediation, and sampling techniques. (95-R09-005) (S. Acree(RSKERL)405-436-8609) Technical Assistance to Region IX: On December 16, 1994, RPM Matthew Hagemann requested technical assistance in reviewing the “Draft Work Plan for a Bioventing Treatability Study” at the Presidio Site in San Francisco, CA. On February 8, 1995, Dominic DiGiulio (RSKERL) provided comments on the determination of pneumatic permeability and estimation of the biodegradation rate of contaminants. A number of references were cited in order to provide the Region with additional information in these areas. (95-R09-003) (D. DiGiulio(RSKERL)405-436-8607) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS Lyon, William G. (ManTech). “Swelling of Peats in Liquid Methyl, Tetramethylene, and Propyl Sulfoxides and in Liquid Propyl Sulfone.” Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Vol. 14, No. 2. 1995. (R. Cosby(RSKERL)405-436-8533) RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Traditional methods used to map the distribution of oily phase liquids in the subsurface are time-consuming, expensive, and often fail. Multi-sensor cone penetrometers have been developed for hazardous waste characterizations in which laser light beamed through a fiber optic cable illuminates subsurface material adjacent to the cone through a sapphire window. Under these conditions, certain oily wastes, such as TCE and naphthalene, fluoresce, and the signal is returned to the surface for analysis by a spectrophotometer. Under a cooperative agreement with RSKERL, Tufts University is developing and testing a Raman shifter which will allow multiple channel spectral analysis of the returned fluorescence. This will permit the simultaneous analysis of up to ten compounds with different fluorescence responses. (B. Lien(RSKERL)405-436-8555) Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research P.O. Box 1198 Ada, Oklahoma 74820 Phone: FTS and Commercial (405) 436-8500 H I G H L I G H T SS Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research LaboratoryLaboratory Status Report for the Week of February 27, 19951995 REGIONAL ASSISTANCE Technical Assistance to Region I: On July 11, 1994, RPM Mary Garren asked for a technical review of the document “Summary of Unconsolidated Deposits Investigation.” The preliminary assessment of the report rejected soil vacuum extraction as a feasible option to remediate the unsaturated zone at the G&H Site in Woburn, MA. On February 15, 1995, Scott Huling (RSKERL) provided the Region with review comments as well as the written comments of Dr. Ryan Dupont (Utah State University). Each of the reviewers suggested that there was not sufficient information to indicate that soil vacuum extraction would not be effective at this site, and that a field-scale pilot study should be conducted to assess the technology. Detailed comments were provided on a wide variety of topics including the characterization of the site, modeling, the excavation of near-surface contamination, and the implementation of air sparging in the source area below the water table. (93-R01-001) (S. Huling(RSKERL)406-436-8610) Technical Assistance to Region V: The Allied Chemical Site is located in Ironton, OH. The site consists of a waste disposal area, coke plant, lagoons, and tar plant. On December 4, 1994, RPM Tom Alcamo requested technical assistance regarding analyses being made at the site. On February 21, 1995, Joe Williams (RSKERL) provided the Region with detailed comments on gathering filtered versus unfiltered ground-water samples, and the analysis for TOC in lagoon material which contains coal and coke fines. The review comments questioned the rationale for selecting the GEOFLOW model for use at the site. (94-R05-007) (J. Williams(RSKERL)405-436-8608) Technical Assistance to Region VI: The 9-acre PAB Oil and Chemical Services site, in Vermilion Parish, LA, is an abandoned oil field waste disposal area. On February 7, 1995, Dr. Hugh Russell (RSKERL) and Dr. Daniel Pope (Dynamac) met with RPM M.S. Ramesh, and the PRPs and their contractor to discuss a remedial design for the site. Three options for bioremediation of the site were discussed. It was decided that treatability studies should be performed to determine whether the waste should be treated in situ, in prepared bed reactors, or in a slurry reactor. (93-R06-001) (H. Russell(RSKERL)405-436-8612) Technical Assistance to Region X: On February 23, 1995, Dominic DiGiulio (RSKERL) provided the Region with technical assistance regarding the Time Oil Site in Tacoma, WA. It was pointed out that if the capillary fringe exposes significantly more contaminant mass during drawdown, dewatering wells may be useful to enhance soil venting applications. Suggestions were offered as to how the distribution of VOCs could be determined. The evaluation of sparging to enhance soil venting was also discussed. (91-R10-001) (D. DiGiulio(RSKERL)405-436-8607) Technical Assistance to Region X: In response to a February 2, 1995, request from RPM Sally Thomas, Dr. Hugh Russell (RSKERL) and Lowell Leach and Dr. Daniel Pope (Dynamac) provided the Region with review comments on the “Treatability Sampling Plan” for the Pacific Sound Resources Superfund Site in Seattle, WA. The comments, dated February 21, 1995, stated that extensive planning and thought had been given to the design of comprehensive laboratory studies so that they might have the highest potential for defining the capabilities and limitations of the remediation technologies proposed. A number of concerns were expressed, including the intensive sampling program, the difficulty of packing soil columns which closely compare with the natural hydraulic conductivity, and the interpretation of bench-scale studies to field-scale remediation activities. (94-R10-007) (H. Russell(RSKERL)405-436-8612) RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Working under a cooperative agreement with RSKERL, Dr. Herb Ward and Dr. Michelle Thomas (Rice Univ.) are conducting an extensive investigation of the microbial ecology of a field site undergoing nitrate-based bioremediation. Aquifer samples were aseptically collected from a shallow aquifer contaminated with JP-4 jet fuel at Eglin AFB, FL, and analyzed for different microbial populations to provide a background characterization prior to remediation. After one year of treatment using nitrate as an alternative electron acceptor, aquifer samples will again be collected to evaluate how populations respond to bioremediation under anaerobic conditions. (S. Hutchins(RSKERL)405-436-8563) Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development Office of Environmental Processes and Effects Research P.O. Box 1198 Ada, Oklahoma 74820 Phone: FTS and Commercial (405) 436-8500 H I G H L I G H T SS Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research LaboratoryLaboratory Status Report for the Week of March 6, 19951995 REGIONAL ASSISTANCE Technical Assistance to Region I: The Picillo Farm Site is a portion of a former 100-acre pig farm in Kent County, RI. More than 10,000 drums of hazardous wastes and an undetermined volume of liquid chemicals were disposed into several unlined trenches on an 8-acre area of the farm. On December 1, 1994, RPM Anna Krasko requested that RSKERL provide review comments on the PRP’s approach to remediating the site which included thermally-enhanced soil vapor extraction. On February 27, 1995, in response to General Electric’s February 15, 1995 letter of request, Dominic DiGiulio (RSKERL) provided comments on the effectiveness of thermally-enhanced vapor extraction, and the use of soil-vapor analysis in compliance monitoring. (95-R01-002) (D. DiGiulio(RSKERL)405-436-8607) Technical Assistance to Region II: During February 22-24, 1995, Joe Williams (RSKERL) made a site visit to the CIBA-GEIGY Superfund Site in Toms River, NJ. During the visit a meeting was held which included representatives from Region II, and a Regional support contractor, representatives from CIBA-GEIGY and their contractor. A number of issues were discussed including methods to determine partition coefficients and ground-water modeling. (95-R02-003) (J. Williams(RSKERL)405-436-8608) Technical Assistance to Region II: On February 3, 1995, RPM Jeffrey Gratz requested review comments for the “Natural Restoration Work Plan” for the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst Superfund Site in Lakehurst, NJ. The February 24, 1995, response by Dr.