SUMMARY OF THE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT FORUM
SEDIMENTS REMEDIATION ACTION TEAM
TREATMENT SUBGROUP
CONFERENCE CALL

October 28, 1998
1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, October 28, 1998, the following members of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum (RTDF) Sediments Remediation Action Team, Treatment Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Karen Miller, Naval Facilities Engineering Services Center (NFESC) (Subgroup Co-chair)
Richard Jensen, DuPont (Action Team Co-Chair)
Scott Cieniawski, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Great Lakes National Programs Office (GLNPO)
Michael Coia, Phytoworks, Inc. (Phytoworks)
Dawn Foster, Blasland, Bouck, and Lee, Inc. (BB&L)
Steve Garbaciak, Hart Crowser, Inc.
Richard Landis, DuPont
Terry Lyons, EPA, National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL)
Kelly Madalinski, EPA, Technology Innovation Office (TIO)
Hap Pritchard, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
Dan Reible, Louisiana State University (LSU)
Richard Sheets, Soil Technology
Ernie Watkins, EPA, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
John Wilkens, DuPont

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

SUMMARY OF THE SEPTEMBER 16-17, 1998, CONFERENCE

Richard Jensen noted that the Sediments Remediation Action Team met in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 16 and 17, 1998. ERG summarized the proceedings and has agreed to notify Action Team members when the summary is posted on the RTDF Web site. Jensen said the summary is very detailed and he encouraged the Subgroup members to review it thoroughly.

RTDF WEB SITE

Jensen said general information about the Action Team can be found by clicking on the Sediments Remediation Action Team button on the RTDF Web page (http://www.rtdf.org). He said a password-restricted area has been established to facilitate collaboration, but that no information has been posted yet. Jensen said conference call participants will be notified of the password and the exact location of the password-restricted area in the near future. The password-restricted area will have a(n):

• Calendar. Jensen noted that Action Team members will be able to keep each other abreast of activities by marking important events on the calendar.
• Area for posting information and reports. Jensen said Action Team members will be able to post information and reports on the Web site. He said members who have Netscape can post their own materials. Those who do not have Netscape can have their materials posted by contacting Carolyn Perroni (cperroni@emsus.com). Jensen said all requests to remove materials from the Web site will need to be forwarded to Perroni.

PLANS FOR FUTURE ACTION TEAM MEETINGS

Karen Miller noted that the Sediments Remediation Action Team plans to meet in:

• January 1999. Miller said that Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, D.C., have been suggested as meeting locations for a January 1999 meeting. Richard Sheets said he prefers to have the meeting in Washington, D.C. Hap Pritchard said the NRL or the Navy yard could serve as a meeting location. Miller said she prefers the NRL. Pritchard said hotels are located nearby and that vans could shuttle attendees back and forth between NRL and the hotels.

  Jensen said the meeting will be scheduled over 2 days, with sessions convening midday on the first day and ending late on the second day. Jensen said he prefers to schedule the meeting for a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Dates corresponding to these days include: January 5, 6, and 7; January 12, 13, and 14; January 19, 20, and 21; and January 26, 27, and 28. Steve Garbaciak said a 1-day sediments conference is scheduled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 21, 1999. Given this conflict, conference call participants agreed that the week of January 19th was not an ideal choice. Dan Reible, Sheets, and Pritchard said the week of January 5th would work well with their schedules. Jensen said final dates will be chosen after polling additional Action Team members.

• April 1999. Miller noted that a sediment session will be presented at Battelle's April 1999 conference in San Diego, California. She said the RTDF Action Team will meet before or after the session. Jensen said a final date will be set after he finds out exactly when Battelle's sediment session is scheduled.

AQUABLOK™ CAPPING DEMONSTRATION IN TOLEDO, OHIO

Scott Cieniawski said some Action Team members have expressed interest in attending an Aquablok™ capping demonstration in Toledo, Ohio. Cieniawski said the cap will be installed over a 5-day period using a helicopter, a barge, and a Putzmeister. He said the majority of the work will be performed using the helicopter. (Cieniawski said it is difficult to find a competitive rate for barges because they are in high demand in the area.)

Cieniawski said that New Waste Concepts, the company orchestrating the demonstration, will initiate activities after they receive a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. The permit is expected to be issued in late November or early December. New Waste Concepts has agreed to contact Cieniawski when they receive the permit and to delay demonstration activities for a couple of weeks so that the RTDF Action Team can plan a field trip. (Cieniawski said the company is eager to have an audience because the demonstration is the first large one that they have performed in the continental United States.) Kelly Madalinski told Cieniawski to notify Jensen or Dennis Timberlake when the permit is issued and that ERG will distribute the information to the rest of the Action Team. One participant recommended having ERG send out a test E-mail to make sure that ERG has correct E-mail addresses for Action Team members. Other conference call participants agreed this was a good idea.

ACTIVITIES AT GRASSE RIVER

Jensen noted that Alcoa is planning to have several demonstration projects conducted along their Grasse River site. Jensen said Alcoa's John Smith has expressed interest in working with the:

• RTDF. Jensen said the Grasse River might serve as a good candidate for demonstrating capping, reactive capping, and natural attenuation technologies.
• EPA. Jensen said EPA's Jim Keating plans to demonstrate various sediment remediation approaches at about a half-dozen sites. According to Jensen, Smith has offered the Grasse River site as a potential test site for EPA's program.

Jensen said he is excited about the opportunities at the Grasse River site. He stressed that it is highly unusual for an industrial partner to come forth offering a potential demonstration site. Dawn Foster said she will ask Smith to provide additional information. She recommended distributing this information to the Action Team when ERG sends the test E-mail (see above).

DREDGING EFFECTIVENESS

Reible, a representative from LSU's Hazardous Substance Research Center, said Alcoa is supporting LSU's efforts to evaluate dredging effectiveness. Reible said LSU plans to release a white paper on the topic in February 1999. The paper will indicate when it is appropriate to use dredging as a remedial approach. The conclusions, Reible explained, will be based on information gathered from three case studies. To date, LSU has completed analysis on one site (Bayou Bonfouca), is now analyzing a second site (Grasse River), and is in the process of choosing a third site. Reible said Alcoa is encouraging wide distribution of the white paper.

SEDIMENTS REUSE

Jensen noted that sediment reuse emerged as a strong topic at the NAS conference that was held a couple months ago. He said Ann Montague spoke at the conference and that she is a strong advocate for beneficial reuse of sediments. All of the conference call participants agreed that Montague is strongly committed to and highly knowledgeable about sediment reuse. In fact, Sheets expanded, he has been told that Montague is the country's leading advocate of beneficial sediment reuse.

Jensen asked the conference call participants whether the Action Team should initiate a project in the area of sediment reuse. Cieniawski, Reible, and Sheets said that many sediment reuse projects are ongoing or on the verge of being initiated. Projects include:

• New York/New Jersey (NY/NJ) Harbor project. Cieniawski noted that two sediment reuse demonstration projects are ongoing at the NY/NJ Harbor project. In these projects, investigators are evaluating the potential for reusing sediments as a cement-like material and topsoil.
• Topsoil demonstration project. Cieniawski said that GLNPO is hoping to conduct a topsoil reuse project along the Trenton Channel.
• State of Michigan project. Cieniawski said that GLNPO recently awarded a $500,000 grant to Michigan for a beneficial reuse demonstration.
• Mine land reclamation project in Minnesota. Cieniawski said GLNPO awarded a grant to Minnesota for a mine land reclamation study.
• Mine reclamation project in Pennsylvania. Mike Coia noted that the New Jersey Department of Commerce is underwriting a mine drainage tailing reclamation project in Pennsylvania.
• Dredging site in the Pacific Northwest. Reible said that beneficial reuse is a key component of a dredging project that is underway in the Pacific Northwest.
• Puget Sound site. Sheets noted that Puget Sound sediments will be tested for upland reuse. He said the project will be initiated in 2000.

Cieniawski warned that the RTDF might duplicate efforts if it decides to focus on sediment reuse issues. Rather than initiating additional sediment reuse projects, Cieniawski recommended encouraging Subgroup members to visit ongoing demonstration projects. Terry Lyons agreed with Cieniawski's idea and recommended making one to three Subgroup field trips. By doing so, Lyons explained, the Subgroup can say that they have investigated sediment reuse issues. Coia warned that it could be some time before activities are far enough advanced to warrant site visits. For example, he said, several sediment reuse projects are only in the laboratory phase. At the NY/NJ Harbor project, Coia predicted that equipment would not be installed until the fall of 1999. At the Pennsylvania mine reclamation project, Coia said a site visit would not be warranted until the spring or summer of 1999.

Given the statements provided by conference call participants, Jensen said he thinks it would be best to steer away from sediment reuse issues. He said it is important that the Action Team's goals and missions converge and is doubtful that they will do so in the area of sediment reuse. He said the topic could be revisited at the January 1999 meeting.

DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS TECHNOLOGIES AND A DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL
DEMONSTRATION SITES

Reactive Confined Disposal Facility (CDF)

Jensen said many contaminated sediments are dredged and directed to CDFs. He noted that remediation could be enhanced if reactive agents were added to dredge streams before they reach CDFs. Using such an approach, Jensen explained, contaminants would slowly be destroyed or tied up within the CDF.

For sediments that are heavily laden with chlorinated solvents (e.g., trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene), Jensen recommended adding zero-valent iron to the sediment dredge stream. He asked conference call participants to contact him if they knew of a potential demonstration site. He said performing a demonstration with zero-valent iron would be fundamentally simple and would have a high probability of success.

Coia, a representative from Phytoworks, said his company has identified a number of plant enzymes that successfully degrade organics (e.g., chlorinated solvents, nitroaromatics, polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], and other chlorinated pesticides). He said many of the enzymes operate extracellularly. (Coia said fluids that drop from leaves and stems contain enzymes that degrade organics.) Coia said Phytoworks has been working towards adding the enzymes to soil washing reagents.

Coia said that he and Jensen have discussed taking genetically engineered plants, harvesting them, converting them to pulp, and then adding the pulp to sediment dredge stre ams before they enter CDFs. Ideally, Coia noted, the enzymes in the pulp would degrade contaminants within the CDF. Coia stressed that using this approach might offer a low-cost solution for sediment remediation. Coia noted that nitroaromatic-contaminated soils have been remediated using pulped plant material in the laboratory. (Coia said this experiment was conducted because Phytoworks is considering using pulped plant material in lieu of microbial organisms at land farming sites.) One participant asked whether Phytoworks can predict the amount of pulped plant material that is needed to perform site remediation. Coia said that substantial treatability work must be performed to generate an accurate estimate. He said it is difficult to make an estimate without information on the severity of contamination or soil absorption properties.

Jensen asked whether anyone knows of sites where a demonstration project could be established. He described the ideal site as one where dredging is ongoing and contaminated materials are being sent to a CDF. Jensen said he would like to use pulped plant materials at a site with recalcitrant organics, such as PCBs, dioxins, or DDT. Cieniawski said the Fox River, which is contaminated with PCBs and mercury, might serve as a good candidate. He said sediment dredging is already scheduled at the site and agreed to contact a site representative to ask whether pulped plant materials could be added to the dredge stream before disposing it in the CDF.

Phytoremediation

Coia said that Phytoworks is trying to determine whether plants can be used to effectively degrade methyl mercury. He said Phytoworks is pursuing this avenue of research because other mercury remediation technologies are often too costly to be practical. Coia said Phytoworks has transgenically transplanted the Mer gene series--a bacterial-based gene series that is capable of degrading methyl mercury--into tobacco and Brassica sp. (He said efforts are currently underway to transplant the genes into rice, cattails, and Spartina sp. as well.) Coia said Mer-enhanced plants can remediate soils that are contaminated with methyl mercury. Within the plant, he explained, methyl mercury is degraded to mercury gas and then emitted from plant tissues.

Jensen said the Subgroup should consider identifying mercury-contaminated sites for field demonstrations. He said he envisions a demonstration project where Mer-enhanced plants are established on top of a CDF that contains mercury-contaminated sediments. Coia said many mercury-contaminated test sites have been identified, but few site representatives are willing to fund demonstration projects. He said Phytoworks has submitted a proposal to use wetland species on mercury-contaminated soils along Berry Creek in northern New Jersey. Coia said other possible candidates for a demonstration project include: (1) Lavaca Bay, (2) San Francisco Bay, (3) and the Great Lake area. Sheets said that one of his clients is installing a CDF in a wetland area at Lavaca Bay. Sheets offered to ask whether the client would consider establishing a plant colony on top of the CDF. Other potential demonstration sites that were recommended included:

• Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL). One participant asked whether any federal facility sites could serve as potential demonstration site. Lyons recommended ORNL and said that he would contact Department of Energy (DOE) representatives to see if there is any interest in a phytoremediation demonstration. Assuming there is interest, Lyons said he will investigate the possibility of conducting the project under the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. Under the SITE program, Lyons explained, DOE covers sampling analysis, report writing, and some setup and logistical costs. Coia and Pritchard agreed that ORNL would serve as a good test site. Coia noted that mercury-contaminated sediments exist along ORNL's river reach. He said much of the contaminated sediment has been removed, but noted that areas with less than 400 parts per million have been left in place. Pritchard said that work has already been performed to determine how microorganisms affect mercury transformations at the ORNL site.
• Brookhaven site. Sheets said that mercury-contaminated sediments and lagoons are present in Brookhaven's Glass Hole site. Coia said that Paul Moscowicz heads Brookhaven's research and development efforts and recommended contacting him about potential demonstration projects. Sheets and Lyons agreed to contact Moscowicz and other Brookhaven representatives.
• A site in British Columbia. Sheets said he knows of a mercury-contaminated site in British Columbia. He said the site's representatives are actively seeking someone to perform a demonstration project. He said activities could start as soon as the first quarter of 1999. Sheets agreed to contact site representatives and inform them of the RTDF Action Team's activities.

Jensen asked conference call participants to contact Miller with feedback from site representatives.

Natural Recovery

Pritchard, head of the Navy's Environmental Quality Sciences Program (EQSP), said his team is working on natural recovery projects in Maryland, Philadelphia, and Charleston, South Carolina. To date, Pritchard noted, the Maryland site has proven the most promising, with EPA and the Chesapeake Bay program sponsoring research to address sediment contamination in the Anacostia River. The Anacostia River, Pritchard reported, is contaminated with PCBs, metals, and fairly high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Pritchard said EQSP is gathering information about natural degradation activities for PAHs. In addition, EQSP is trying to develop technologies that will measure field processes.

Lyons said that site owners of creosote-treated wood areas would be interested in learning of Pritchard's work. Additionally, Lyons said, Beazer Environmental might want to talk to Pritchard about copper wood treating facilities. Pritchard said EQSP and Beazer Environmental have already established a relationship.

Reactive Caps

Jensen said caps have been installed over contaminated sediments at some sites. If the cap is permeable, Jensen noted, contaminants can diffuse into the surrounding water column. Jensen said some consideration has been given to installing reactive materials at the cap's surface so that contaminants are destroyed before they can diffuse to the environment. Jensen said the idea of treating sediments with a reactive cap is analogous to treating ground water with a permeable reactive barrier (PRB) wall. John Wilkens expressed great interest in using reactive materials. He reminded the group, however, that installing reactive materials along a river bottom is more difficult than installing PRBs.

Jensen said that Alcoa's Smith has additional information on reactive caps and said he looks forward to having Smith participate in the next conference call. Other conference call participants noted that reactive caps could be beneficial at:

• The Naval yard in San Diego, California. Pritchard said two remediation projects are ongoing at the Naval yard. One of the projects entails installment of a CDF near a streambed and the other consists of dumping sediments into a hole and covering it with a cap. Pritchard said EQSP recommended adding electron acceptor materials to the capped surface to enhance anaerobic degradation processes. He said he suspects that this approach could lead to effective remediation of hydrocarbons and PCBs.
• Palos Verdes. Lyons said that investigators plan to cap sediments at the Palos Verdes site, but that site contaminants (e.g., DDT and DDE) are known to diffuse readily through capped materials. Lyons said bench-scale studies are being performed to determine whether zero-valent iron can be used to treat the contaminants before they diffuse out of the cap. (Lyons said zero-valent iron has been shown to effectively degrade pesticides, but stressed that chemical degradation processes are not as dramatic as those observed when the material interacts with chlorinated solvents. Jensen said slow degradation reaction rates are acceptable when sediments are capped or placed in CDFs. Under these scenarios, Jensen explained, long residence times allow contaminated materials to contact reactive materials.) Lyons said that preliminary data has been collected from the bench-scale study and the results are encouraging.. Given these findings, he noted, site representatives may consider installing a layer of zero-valent iron immediately under the cap surface.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA IN GREAT LAKES CLEANUP

Jensen said that Dow and GLNPO representatives met in a conference call to discuss a binational (United States and Canada) strategy for eliminating toxic substances in the Great Lakes. Jensen said that participants in the conference call included Dow's Jim Davis, GLNPO's director (Gary Gulezian), and GLNPO's Chief of Technical Assistance and Analysis Branch (David Cowgill).. Jensen said that Davis summarized the conference call proceedings and follow up discussions and indicated that:

• Strong interest was expressed in having the binational effort interface with RTDF activities.
• Dow is trying to identify someone who could serve as a liaison between the binational and the RTDF groups.
• GLNPO discussed how to treat large areas with low-level contamination and indicated that potential RTDF test sites might be available.
• Gulezian expressed interest in developing natural attenuation treatment strategies.

Cieniawski said that he was also briefed on the conference call proceedings, but by Cowgill rather than Davis. According to Cieniawski, Cowgill believes it may be premature to establish a connection between the binational remediation strategy and the RTDF. Cieniawski said that Cowgill is excited about the RTDF's work but wants to learn more about the RTDF's goals and focus before linking the binational and the RTDF group.

NEXT CONFERENCE CALL

Conference call participants agreed to have another call before the January 1999 Action Team meeting. Miller said she would send an E-mail to inform people of the exact date.

MISCELLANEOUS

Miller noted that the Treatment Subgroup needs an industrial co-chair. One conference call participant nominated Smith. Jensen agreed to follow up with this suggestion.

One conference call participant noted that it is difficult to monitor a technology's effectiveness, especially when the sediments are treated under water. Sheets said that batch leach tests and column leach tests are being developed and that these tests can be used to measure differences in absorption and desorption.

ACTION ITEMS

• ERG agreed to notify Action Team members when the summary for the September 1998 Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting is posted on the RTDF Web site.
• Cieniawski agreed to notify Jensen or Timberlake when the permit is issued for the Toledo, Ohio, capping demonstration. ERG agreed to distribute the information to the rest of the Action Team.
• Foster said she would ask Alcoa's Smith to provide additional information on the Grasse River site. She recommended having ERG distribute this information to the Action Team as part of a test E-mail.
• Cieniawski said the Fox River might serve as a good candidate to demonstrate the effectiveness of Phytowork's pulped plant material additive. He agreed to contact a site representative to ask whether pulped plant materials could be added to the dredge stream before disposing it in the CDF.
• Sheets said that one of his clients is installing a CDF in a wetland area at Lavaca Bay. Sheets offered to ask whether the client would consider establishing a plant colony on top of the CDF.
• Lyons agreed to contact DOE to determine whether they are interested in establishing a phytoremedial test demonstration in their mercury-contaminated areas. Assuming there is interest, Lyons said he will investigate the possibility of conducting the project under the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program.
• Sheets and Lyons agreed to contact Moscowicz and other Brookhaven representatives about the possibility of conducting a demonstration project.
• Sheets said he knows of a mercury-contaminated site in British Columbia. Sheets agreed to contact site representatives and inform them of the RTDF Action Team's activities.
• Jensen agreed to contact Smith to ask him if he is interested in serving as a Subgroup co-chair.
• Miller agreed to send an E-mail to inform people of the exact date of the next conference call.