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

October 15, 1998
10:00 a.m.­12:00 p.m.

On Thursday, October 15, 1998, the following members of the Sediments Remediation Action Team, Assessment Subgroup, met in a conference call:

Richard Jensen, E.I. DuPont DeNemours & Company, Inc. (DuPont) (RTDF Action Team Co-Chair)
Ralph Stahl, DuPont Corporate Remediation (Subgroup Co-Chair)
Julia Fields, Environmental Quality Management, Inc.
Dave Hohreiter, BB&L, Inc.

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

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSESSMENT SUBGROUP'S GOALS AND ACTIVITIES

Ralph Stahl noted that he drafted a brief statement summarizing the Subgroup's goals and planned activities. The statement, he continued, was written to ensure that all Subgroup members are on the same wavelength and to serve as a marketing tool. Stahl said he distributed the one-paragraph statement to Subgroup members and is waiting to receive comments. Dave Hohreiter said he has read the paragraph and suggested opening with a sentence about the Subgroup's purpose and goals. Doing so, Hohreiter explained, will give the statement more "punch" for marketing. Aside from Hohreiter, Stahl reported, Bob Hoke and Ernie Watkins are the only people who have offered comments. Stahl said he will distribute a revised version of the paragraph by October 23, 1998. Once the Subgroup reaches final agreement about the statement's wording, Stahl continued, he will ask ERG to distribute it.

FOLLOW-UP ON ACTION ITEMS

Stahl noted that several action items were assigned during the September 1998 RTDF Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting in Cincinnati. He said RTDF members had agreed to contact various organizations to solicit their interest in joining the RTDF Action Team. Stahl said he had agreed to contact the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) and CTEC. While he has contacted CMA, Stahl continued, he has not yet talked with CTEC.

Stahl noted that Hohreiter and Len Racioppi had agreed to ask the American Industrial Health Council (AIHC) for information about a pilot project program. Hohreiter said he contacted an AIHC representative and was told that AIHC would be willing to send project information, at AIHC's expense, to all Assessment Subgroup members. Hohreiter agreed to forward a mailing list to AIHC as soon as he receives one from ERG. In addition, Hohreiter also agreed to establish contact with AIHC's Environmental Health Risk Assessment Committee. Hohreiter said he did not know whether Racioppi has contacted AIHC, but knew that Racioppi was planning to talk with Exxon's Annette Guiseppe.

Stahl asked whether conference call participants knew of any additional progress that had been made on action items. No one responded. Stahl said he would E-mail a reminder to those Subgroup members who had been assigned action items.

RTDF WEB SITE

Stahl asked for information on the RTDF Web site. Specifically, he asked whether the site can be used to post and retrieve documents. Richard Jensen said that a private area has been established on the Web site. In the very near future, Jensen continued, all Subgroup members will receive the password and user identification that is needed to access this private area.

Jensen said the RTDF Web site can be used to post and download documents. He said edits can be made to posted files, but that edited files must be saved as new versions. Stahl said he is hopeful that the Web site will serve as an effective communication tool. He asked ERG whether the Subgroup mailing list could be posted on the Web site. ERG agreed to forward this request to Environmental Management Support, Inc. (EMS).

SUBGROUP CO-CHAIR

Jensen said that Dennis Timberlake had agreed to find an EPA co-chair for the Assessment Subgroup. Julia Fields said Timberlake would be out of the office until October 19. She said she was planning to meet with him soon and agreed to remind him that the Subgroup needs an EPA co-chair.. Fields said she did not think it would be difficult to find a co-chair. She said she knows about ten researchers at the National Risk Management Research Laboratory who are conducting sediment research and would likely be interested in serving as a co-chair.

PLANS FOR FUTURE ACTION TEAM MEETINGS

Jensen noted that the Action Team plans to meet in:

• January 1999. Jensen said the Sediments Remediation Action Team plans to meet on the east coast in January 1999. He said that Wilmington, Delaware, and Arlington, Virginia, have been suggested as locations for the meeting. Jensen noted that both cities are located near Naval bases and that each have certain advantages. If the former is chosen, Jensen continued, DuPont could host the meeting. If the latter is chosen, however, more members from EPA headquarters could attend. Jensen asked whether there were any other east coast locations the Subgroup wanted to consider. None were recommended. Jensen said he would send an E-mail to RTDF members asking which meeting dates would best accommodate their schedules. He said he plans to pick the dates by the end of October. Conference call participants indicated that the week of January 11 would be the ideal choice. Both Hohreiter and Stahl said the week of January 18 would be difficult for them. In addition, Stahl said he would not be able to attend on January 27 or 28.
• April 1999. Jensen and Stahl noted that a sediment session is going to be presented at Battelle's April 1999 conference in San Diego, California. Stahl said the meeting will extend from April 19 to April 22, but he was not sure which day the sediment session would be presented. Jensen said the Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting will be scheduled around the sediment session. Fields recommended going to Battelle's Web site (www.battelle.org/environment/er/biosymp) to find out when the sediment session will take place. The agenda for the April 1999 meeting, she reported, will be posted on Battelle's Web site in November 1998. Jensen agreed to contact Battelle's conference group to try and get additional information.

NEXT CONFERENCE CALL

Conference call participants agreed that the next conference call should be scheduled for November 10, 1998, between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. By the next call, Stahl noted, the Subgroup should be able to discuss projects because they will have received the AIHC project information. Stahl said he will write an agenda for the next call.

MISCELLANEOUS

Jensen noted that a member of the National Safety Council (NSC) contacted the RTDF Action Team through a Web site questionnaire. The NSC member, Jensen reported, asked whether the RTDF Action Team plans to consider worker safety, either in a quantitative or qualitative fashion, when choosing remedial approaches. Jensen said he plans to invite the NSC member to join the RTDF Action Team.

Stahl asked who he should contact to add people to the mailing list. Christine Hartnett said this information should be forwarded directly to ERG's Laurie Stamatatos (lstamata@erg.com).

Jensen suggested notifying the entire RTDF Action Team of Subgroup conference calls. He said several Action Team members are interested in participating in multiple Subgroups.

Jensen noted that he has received a draft of the September 1998 RTDF Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting summary. He agreed to E-mail the draft to Stahl and Field.

ACTION ITEMS

• Stahl said he would revise the brief statement he has written summarizing the Subgroup's goals and planned activities. Once the Subgroup reaches final agreement about the statement's wording, Stahl continued, he will ask ERG to distribute it.
• ERG agreed to send Hohreiter a Subgroup mailing list. Hohreiter agreed to forward the list to AIHC.
• Stahl said he would E-mail a reminder to Subgroup members who were assigned action items at the September 1998 RTDF Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• ERG agreed to contact EMS about having the Subgroup mailing list posted on the Web site.
• Fields said she would remind Timberlake to find an EPA co-chair for the Subgroup.
• Jensen said he would send an E-mail to RTDF members to determine which dates to hold the Action Team's January 1999 meeting. He agreed to pick dates by the end of October 1998.
• Jensen agreed to contact Battelle for additional information about Battelle's April 1999 conference in San Diego, California. Specifically, he said he would find out when Battelle plans to hold its session on sediments.
• ERG agreed to set up a Subgroup conference call for November 10, 1998, between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Stahl said he would write an agenda for the next call.
• Jensen agreed to E-mail a draft of the September 1998 RTDF Sediments Remediation Action Team meeting summary to Stahl and Field.