Hazardous Substance Research Centers/South & Southwest

Center Conducting 3-Day Sediment Remediation Courses in Atlanta and Portland

Progress Reports on Anacostia Demonstration Project On-Line

Center Annual Report Available Online

Environmental Factsheet Published on Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention

Update Briefs Available on Textiles Industry and Perchlorate Contamination

Center Directors Author Essay on Katrina Contamination Issues

HSRC Publishes Environmental Updates to Assist Rail Industry and Hurricane Victims

Presentations from NATO Sediments Workshop in Slovakia On-Line

Center Co-Director Inducted into National Academy of Engineering

Factsheet Describes Progress on Active Capping Demonstration

HSRC Serving as Source of Expertise in Superfund Sediment Resource Center

Factsheet Highlights HSRC Research on Desorption Resistance of Contaminants in Sediments

Book Published with Proceedings of Center-Led NATO Institute in Prague

Center Conducting 3-Day Sediment Remediation Courses in Atlanta and Portland

The EPA Hazardous Substance Research Center/ South and Southwest, in cooperation with the U.S. EPA and the Sediment Management Work Group, will conduct three-day sediment remediation courses in Atlanta, Georgia, and Portland, Oregon.

The Portland conference is entitled "Advancing Risk-Based, Scientifically Sound Approaches for Evaluation of Sediment Management Decisions" and will be held September 5-7. It is co-sponsored by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The Atlanta course, entitled "Sediment Remediation: How Do You Select and Design Options?" will run from October 29-31.

The courses provides environmental professionals in industry, consulting and government with practical information on how to evaluate the technical suitability of monitored natural recovery, dredging and excavation, or in-situ capping remedies for contaminated sediments. Further information is available at http://www.smwg.org or from Susan Vasich, Sediment Management Work Group, at 313-465-7978 or at svasich@honigman.com.

Progress Reports on Anacostia Demonstration Project On-Line

A final 18-month progress report on the Anacostia River Demonstration project is on the reports page and is the first listing under "Cap Monitoring." In addition, there is a downloadable presentation on the demonstration delivered to project director Dr. Danny Reible to the Anacostia Watershed Toxics Alliance on May 16, 2007. It is the first item under the "Presentations" section.

Center Annual Report Available Online

The latest HSRC/S&SW annual report, for the fiscal years 2003-2004, can now be downloaded from this web site.

Environmental Factsheet Published on Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention

In September 2006, the center published a downloadable Environmental Update factsheet on the hazards of nonpoint source pollution along with resources for managing this problem.

Environmental Update Briefs Available on Textiles Industry and Perchlorate Contamination Hazards

In June 2006, the center published downloadable electronic versions of two new Environmental Update factsheets. One describes typical contamination problems in the textiles industry, and the other deals with the threat of perchlorate.

Center Directors Author Essay on Katrina Contamination Issues

HSRC/S&SW Directors Danny Reible and John Pardue were co-authors of an essay in the spring issue of the National Academy of Engineering's Bridge newsletter.

"Toxic and Contaminant Concerns Generated by Hurricane Katrina" was the title of the article by Reible, Pardue and co-authors Charles Haas and William Walsh. It argues that decisions about rebuilding are based more on the potential for reflooding than on the overall health of the New Orleans area.

HSRC Publishes Environmental Updates to Assist Rail Industry and Hurricane Victims

The center's community outreach program recently published environments factsheets designed to protect victims of recent hurricanes when they return to their homes and to provide basic information on the environmental management problems found in the nation's rail yards.

Both factsheets are downloadable on the outreach publications page.

Presentations from NATO Sediments Workshop in Slovakia On-Line

Speaker presentations, with synchronized audio and slides, from the HSRC Advanced Research Workshop on the Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments are now free and accessible for public use. This NATO-sponsored meeting convened in Bratislava, Slovak Republic last May 18-21

The workshop's objective is to identify and exchange information between North America and Europe on key scientific issues associated with assessment and remediation of sediments.

Center Co-Director Inducted into National Academy of Engineering

Dr. Danny D. Reible, co-director of the Hazardous Substance Research Center/South & Southwest, has been elected into the National Academy of Engineering. Induction into this organization is widely considered the highest honor to be earned in the engineering profession.

Reible was elected to the Academy in recognition of his work in developing widely used methods of managing contaminated sediments. He has served as the center director for nearly 10 years and currently is chair of the University of Texas' Department of Civil Engineering, where he holds the Bettie Margaret Smith Chair in Environmental Health Engineering. He previously was the Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Louisiana State University.

The National Academy of Engineering serves as an advisory board to federal government departments and agencies, to examine and report upon any engineering topic of interest to the government. It also conducts independent studies to analyze important topics in engineering and technology.

Factsheet Describes Progress on Active Capping Demonstration

The center has published a new Research Brief on an active capping demonstration it is leading on the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. Active caps combine isolation of sediments with treatment to break down the contaminants in them.

HSRC Serving as Source of Expertise in Superfund Sediment Resource Center

The HSRC/South & Southwest is one of the sources of expertise for the new Superfund Sediment Resource Center (SSRC), which is assisting EPA staff on technical issues related to the cleanup of contaminated sediment sites.

The SSRC is working with existing EPA programs, federal agencies, and other organizations to make available experts within and outside the federal government to provide the following types of assistance:

review of documents and deliverables such as work plans;
general input on the results of engineering studies, modeling, statistical/sampling designs, and bioaccumulation studies; and
technology transfer activities such as preparation of fact sheets and workshop facilitation.

More information on who is eligible and how to get assistance is available at: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/resources/sediment/ssrc.htm.

Factsheet Highlights HSRC Research on Desorption Resistance of Contaminants in Sediments

The center has published a new Research Brief on one of its currently funded studies on the bioavailability of desorption-resistant contaminants in sediments.

Bioavailability measures a contaminant's propensity to break free from sediment bonds and become absorbed into aquatic organisms. Current environmental regulations are based on the assumption that all contaminants are completely available for uptake by aquatic organisms; however, scientists have observed that a fraction of many contaminants resists desorption under normal physico-chemical conditions in microbial assays.

The HSRC/SSW study is measuring desorption resistance when sediment particles are ingested and metabolized by deposit-feeding benthic organisms. The project's ultimate aim is to develop a predictive model of biological availability that accounts for the desorption-resistant fraction in contaminants.

Book Published with Proceedings of Center-Led NATO Institute in Prague

A book with proceedings from the center-led NATO Institute on on-site assessment and remediation of contaminated sites in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2001 has been published by Kluwer Academic Publishers.

The volume, entitled Innovative Approaches to the On-Site Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sites is available for purchase on the web at http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-0956-9.

The book argues that in-situ and on-site assessment and remediation of contaminated sites, together with risk-based management and control of hazardous substances, are potentially less expensive than other assessment and remediation approaches, while maintaining accuracy and effectiveness. Such approaches, according to the book, are a critical need throughout the world, especially in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, where resources that can be devoted to chemical cleanup are especially limited.

The book is available in hardback for $121 US and in paperback for $66 US.