Alternatives for Managing the Nation's Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites

Alternatives for Managing the Nation's Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 423
Release: 2013-02-27
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0309278139
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Across the United States, thousands of hazardous waste sites are contaminated with chemicals that prevent the underlying groundwater from meeting drinking water standards. These include Superfund sites and other facilities that handle and dispose of hazardous waste, active and inactive dry cleaners, and leaking underground storage tanks; many are at federal facilities such as military installations. While many sites have been closed over the past 30 years through cleanup programs run by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. EPA, and other state and federal agencies, the remaining caseload is much more difficult to address because the nature of the contamination and subsurface conditions make it difficult to achieve drinking water standards in the affected groundwater. Alternatives for Managing the Nation's Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites estimates that at least 126,000 sites across the U.S. still have contaminated groundwater, and their closure is expected to cost at least $110 billion to $127 billion. About 10 percent of these sites are considered "complex," meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations. At sites where contaminant concentrations have plateaued at levels above cleanup goals despite active efforts, the report recommends evaluating whether the sites should transition to long-term management, where risks would be monitored and harmful exposures prevented, but at reduced costs.

The Hazardous Waste Q&A

The Hazardous Waste Q&A
Author: Travis P. Wagner
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 438
Release: 1992-11-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780471285311
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The Hazardous Waste Q & A An In-depth Guide to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act Revised Edition Travis P. Wagner The "Answer Book" for all your compliance questions. How much of your company's waste is considered "hazardous" under current federal regulations? If the carrier you hire to remove waste is cited for a violation, can you also be held liable? Does your company's disposal program meet new EPA and DOT requirements? Now you can find the authoritative answers to these and hundreds of other critical waste management problems--in minutes--with the revised edition of this practical, quick-reference guide to RCRA and HMTA compliance. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act have spawned an enormous and complex body of regulations and requirements--among the most complicated laws in the land. Unfortunately, while ensuring compliance with these regulations is a top priority for both the EPA and DOT. helping businesses understand and comply with the regulations is not. Written by a former technical compliance specialist for EPA. The Hazardous Waste Q&A helps you make sure your waste management practices fully meet these tough regulations--and will help you reduce your liability, too. The Hazardous Waste Q&A simplifies hazardous waste management under RCRA and HMTA by presenting these highly technical and often difficult to interpret regulations in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-use question-and-answer format. This approach lets you go straight to the help you need without digging through pages and pages of dense, technical detail. You'll find EPA-approved procedures and solutions for virtually every practical aspect of hazardous waste management: * Identification and Classification Guidelines * Requirements for Medium-and Large-Quantity Generators * Transportation under RCRA and HMTA * Recycling, Storage, Treatment, and Disposal * Ground Water Monitoring * Closure and Post-Closure * Financial Requirements * Operating and Post-Closure Permits * Corrective Action * State Regulations and Enforcement Questions were developed from thousands of actual inquiries received at EPA and from the author's experience consulting on hazardous wastes for private industry. In preparing the answers and guidelines, Mr. Wagner went beyond the regulations themselves to gather additional facts and insights from source documents not readily available to the layman, including OSWER Directives, Regulatory Interpretation Letters, Program Implementation Guidance, EPA policy memos and guidance manuals, DOT guidance manuals, Federal Register preambles, and RCRA/Superfund Hotline Monthly Reports. Thus, users will find Q&A not just convenient but authoritative and in depth## For everyone concerned with hazardous## managers, health and safety managers, attor## Q&A is an unrivalled productivity resource. I## and classroom training that is required by law##