SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
IN-PLACE INACTIVATION AND NATURAL ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
TECHNOLOGIES SOIL-METALS ACTION TEAM
CONFERENCE CALL

April 20, 1999
3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.

On Tuesday, April 20, 1999, the following members of the In-place Inactivation and Natural Ecological Restoration Technologies (IINERT) Soil-Metals Action Team met in a conference call:

Bill Berti, DuPont Life Sciences (Action Team Co-Chair)
James Ryan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Action Team Co-Chair)
Rahul Chawla, DuPont
Scott Fredericks, EPA
Andrew Green, International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO)
David Mosby, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Gary Pierzynski, Kansas State University (KSU)

Also present was Christine Hartnett of Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG)..

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION MEETING

Bill Berti said that the IINERT Action Team will meet in June 1999 to discuss ecosystem restoration. A workshop on using soil amendments for land restoration and two field trips will be held in conjunction with the meeting, he said. Berti said that ERG prepared a draft meeting invitation and that it was sent as an e-mail attachment to conference call participants before the conference call. Some participants could not open the file, so Berti agreed to resend it as a PDF file. He asked conference call participants to submit any comments on the invitation by April 21 so that ERG can finalize it by April 23. Conference call participants agreed that the final invitation should be sent to the IINERT mailing list and the Eco Soil Screening Levels Workgroup's Steering Committee and Task Group chairs. Berti said that the registration cut-off will be June 14, but that he would like to get an idea of how many people will attend by mid-May. Christine Hartnett said that ERG can send Berti periodic updates on who has registered for the meeting.

ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE JOPLIN, MISSOURI, SITE

James Ryan noted that research teams have used a variety of methods to measure bioavailability at the Joplin site. Ideally, Ryan said, he would like to get all the research teams together to publish their collective data. Before doing so, however, the Action Team must identify any data gaps that still require filling. Conference call participants agreed that it would be useful to meet in Columbia, Missouri, to discuss the data. Berti, Ryan, Gary Pierzynski, David Mosby, and Andrew Green said that they are available during the week of May 10, 1999. Mosby agreed to contact other key investigators to ask about their availability. (Ryan and Berti said that it is imperative to have Rufus Chaney [and/or Judith Hallfrisch], Stan Casteel, Mike Ruby, and Sally Brown at the meeting. Mosby said that he will also contact Bob Blanchar and John Yang.) After getting feedback, Mosby said, he will set up the meeting and distribute additional details on a specific date, time, and location. Mosby said that he has already started summarizing the Joplin data; he will bring a draft summary to the meeting.

In addition to talking about having a meeting, conference call participants discussed the following issues related to the Joplin site:

• Berti noted that John Drexler's laboratory performs a physiologically based extraction test (PBET) using a glycine solution and a pH of 1.5. He said that Drexler recently used this test to analyze soil samples that were collected from Joplin in September 1997. The results are available, Berti said, and will be sent to conference call participants by April 22, 1999. Pierzynski expressed great interest in seeing whether Drexler's PBET is sensitive to the effects of soil amendments. (Pierzynski said that KSU failed to see treatment effects when they used the glycine-solution-based PBET at pH's of 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5. KSU did observe results, however, when they used the "old gastric solution" at a pH of 2.0.) Berti said that the accuracy of PBET-generated results should be discussed in detail during the May 1999 meeting. Ryan said that he plans to perform a PBET on Joplin samples in the near future.

• Ryan noted that Rufus Chaney and Judith Hallfrisch recently completed a rat-feeding study. A draft summary of their results, he said, was distributed via e-mail to the IINERT Steering Committee on April 16, 1999. He said that the report provides bioavailability data on at least three Joplin plots of interest: the control plot, the iron (Fe) plus phosphorus (P) plot, and the 1% P as phosphoric acid plot. Treatment effects on both blood and bone are reported.

• Mosby said that he recently received data from the most recent pig-feeding study. He said that results were obtained for the lead acetate plot, field control plot, and 1% P as phosphoric acid plot. With the latter, he said, lead bioavailability was shown to decrease by 38% as compared to the natural field control. He said that this is the best reduction that the group has seen. (Ryan noted that this result closely matches what is reported in the rat-feeding study.) Mosby said that he is still waiting to receive some recalculated data from a previous pig-feeding study: Casteel's contractors are recalculating the data, and he will continue to put pressure on them to complete their work. Mosby said that he thinks it is important to obtain this piece of data before the May 1999 meeting. Ryan agreed that he would like to have the data soon, but said that the meeting should not be held up for it.

• Conference call participants questioned whether Brown has completed her analyses of plant samples that were collected in October 1998. Green said that he would remind her to send the results to Steering Committee members.

• Mosby said that he and Ruby exchanged information on pig-dosing studies and in vitro methodology.

NEXT CONFERENCE CALL

The next conference call is scheduled for May 18, 1999, between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST.

ACTION ITEMS

• Conference call participants agreed that it would be useful to meet in Columbia, Missouri, during the week of May 10, 1999, to discuss the Joplin data. Mosby agreed to contact key investigators to ask about their availability. After getting feedback, Mosby said, he will set up the meeting and distribute additional details on a specific date, time, and location. Mosby said that he will prepare a draft summary of Joplin's data prior to the meeting.

• Berti agreed to send conference call participants a PDF version of the draft invitation for the June 1999 meeting. He told participants to submit comments on the invitation by April 21.

• ERG agreed to finalize the invitation for the June 1999 meeting by April 23. ERG agreed to send the invitation to people on the IINERT Action Team mailing list and to the Eco Soil Screening Levels Workgroup's Steering Committee and Task Group chairs.

• ERG agreed to send Berti periodic updates on who has registered for the June 1999 meeting.

• Berti agreed to distribute Drexler's PBET results to all conference call participants by April 22, 1999.

• Mosby said that he will continue to apply pressure on Casteel's contractors to expedite the release of some recalculated data from a pig-feeding study.

• Green said that he will remind Brown to send plant data to Steering Committee members.

• Berti agreed to review the Action Items from the March 16 conference call to ensure that they have all been completed.