Alternatives for ground water cleanup

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 1 THE GROUND WATER CLEANUP CONTROVERSY 19 History of Ground Water Cleanup 21 Magnitude of the Problem 24 Capabilities of Cleanup Technologies 29 The Potential Conflict Between Technology and Policy 31 Notes 33 References 33 BOXES Ground Water Cleanup in South Brunswick Township, New Jersey: Symbol of a Broader Problem 20 The Many Varieties of Pump-and-Treat Systems 30 2 COMPLEXITY OF THE CONTAMINATED SUBSURFACE 35 The Subsurface Environment 35 Contaminants in Ground Water 46 Spatial Variability 66 Research Needs for Improving Understanding of the Contami- nated Subsurface 72 Conclusions 76 References 77 BOX Complexity of the Contaminated Subsurface: A Hypotheti- cal Example 36 CONTENTS xiii About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup http://www.nap.edu/catalog/2311.html 3 PERFORMANCE OF CONVENTIONAL PUMP-AND-TREAT SYSTEMS 80 How Pump-and-Treat Systems Work 81 Previous Studies of Pump-and-Treat Systems 82 Feasibility of Cleanup with Pump-and-Treat Systems 84 Categorizing Sites for Cleanup 89 Cleanup Times for Pump-and-Treat Systems 104 Improving System Performance Through Process Monitoring 113 Research Needs for Improving the Performance of Pump-and- Treat Systems 118 Conclusions 119 Notes 120 References 122 BOXES Complete Restoration of Ground Water Contaminated with Gasoline—Service Station, Unidentified Location 93 Restoration of Ground Water Contaminated with Solvents —Salinas, California 94 The Reemergence of a Contaminant Plume After Cleanup— Dayton, New Jersey 96 Cleanup of Dissolved Contaminants and Isolation of the Contaminant Source—San Jose, California 98 Containment of DNAPLs in Fractured Rock—King of Prus- sia, Pennsylvania 100 Contaminant Stabilization with a Pump-and-Treat System— San Jose, California 102 Pumping and Treating a DNAPL Site—Ville Mercier, Province of Quebec 103 4 CAPABILITIES OF ENHANCED PUMP-AND-TREAT AND ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES 125 Enhanced Pump-and-Treat Systems 126 Alternative Technologies 158 Importance of Combining Processes 164 Relative Effectiveness of Enhancements and Alternatives 164 Barriers to Implementation of Innovative Technologies 168 Research Needs for Advancing the Development of Innova- tive Cleanup Technologies 181 Educational Needs 184 Conclusions 185 Note 187 References 187 CONTENTS xiv About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup http://www.nap.edu/catalog/2311.html BOX Treatment Train for Gasoline Cleanup—Long Island, New York 165 5 CHARACTERIZING SITES FOR GROUND WATER CLEANUP 193 Goal of Characterization 194 Plume Versus Source 195 Management Options 197 Data Requirements 198 Stages of Site Characterization and Management 208 Research Needs 210 Conclusions 211 References 212 6 SETTING GOALS FOR GROUND WATER CLEANUP 213 Current Cleanup Goals 214 Alternative Cleanup Goals 219 Health Risks of Contaminated Ground Water 227 Ecological Risks of Ground Water Contamination 236 Economics of Ground Water Cleanup 239 The Complexity of Selecting Cleanup Goals 248 Conclusions 249 Notes 251 References 251 BOXES Options for Supplying Drinking Water When Ground Water Contamination Remains in Place 225 Point-of-Use Treatment for TCE Contamination—Elkhart, Indiana 226 7 POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF A TECHNICAL PROBLEM 255 Components of Ground Water Cleanup Policy 256 Key Policies Addressing the Technical Uncertainty of Ground Water Cleanup 256 Implementation of Policies 265 Summary of Policy Recommendations 267 Notes 272 References 272 CONTENTS xv About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup http://www.nap.edu/catalog/2311.html APPENDIXES 275 A Summary of Pump-and-Treat Systems Reviewed in This Study 276 B Glossary 285 C Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff 299 INDEX 305 CONTENTS xvi About