You are visiting the web site of the EPSCI Program at the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA

Looking at a new way to deal with an old problem, scientists and engineers in the Lab's Technology Integration Program (TIP) joined with IES Utilities, a major Iowa utility company, to showcase a new method for characterizing hazardous waste sites.

The new method, expedited site characterization (ESC), can reduce the time required to identify contaminants and can allow a more cost-effective cleanup process.

To spread the word about ESC, TIP personnel held a special field demonstration of the methodology on May 2, 3 and 4 at a Marshalltown site once occupied by a manufactured gas plant. The event drew such interested groups as regulators, consultants, environmental technology providers, utility managers, legislators, and educators.

"The ESC demonstration provided an opportunity for attendees and participants to network with others who have a stake in environmental technologies and issues," says Connie Bailey, communication specialist and one of the organizers of the event. "The demonstration also gave Lab scientists and other stakeholders a chance to compare conventional environmental assessment technologies with new, innovative technologies under development at different companies throughout the world."

The Marshalltown site, owned by IES Utilities, contains semi-volatile organic compounds that were created during the production of gas for lighting and heating in the early 1900s. IES has been investigating the environmental conditions at the site, and its partnership with Ames Lab should help enhance the company's assessment and remediation efforts. The partnership represents the first time a non-government organization has co-sponsored an ESC demonstration of this type.

When the information gained from the ESC has been analyzed, it will be shared with IES representatives to help the company advance its site assessment and remediation efforts. The DOE will also use the information to enhance the cleanup efforts at its own hazardous waste sites.

The ESC method, developed for the DOE by Argonne National Laboratory, unites the various phases of environmental site assessment, bringing geophysical, geotechnical, analytical and computer software technologies together at the site for concurrent characterization efforts. The concentrated nature of the ESC method is what sets it apart from conventional assessment methods that may combine the various steps of the assessment process but do not achieve the high degree of step integration that distinguishes ESC. "The niche that ESC holds is the extremely high level of consolidation of tasks into a single field effort," says David Wonder, contaminant hydrogeologist working on the ESC project. "The ability to integrate data in the field and to dynamically modify the work plan to meet specific needs are critical to the ESC methodology."

"Using conventional assessment methods, you often have to go back to the site to fill data gaps," says Al Bevolo, senior physicist and principal investigator for the ESC project. "You may also have to send samples out for off-site analysis and write multiple work plans and reports -- you're continually cycling. ESC allows you to understand what you need to know about the site while you're on the site," he states. "If you do ESC correctly, you're done. The problem of having to go back and do it again is dramatically reduced."

"The goals of any site characterization are to identify the regulated substance and determine where it came from, where it is and where it is likely to go," explains Wonder. "The ESC methodology promises a new, more efficient way to achieve these goals and deal with environmental problems, whether those problems are the responsibility of the public or private sector."

As both public and private organizations confront environmental problems that were years in the making, and as they continue to produce, process and use resources, they will need new technologies and methodologies to help them address issues of environmental management and remediation. "Wherever there's economic activity, there's going to be a potential for an environmental problem." says Bevolo. "They go hand-in-hand."

Stakeholder involvement is critical in addressing these problems, and the DOE is committed to getting stakeholder input regarding environmental management issues, says Bevolo. "Stakeholders have a role in the decision-making process of how environmental management occurs. The involvement has to be there, otherwise you run the risk, and it's considerable, of having your efforts stopped or changed, take longer and cost all of us more money," Bevolo notes. "It's simply better to involve everybody who has the ability to affect how environmental management is handled, up front and right away."

Continuing their efforts to involve stakeholders in the environmental decision-making process and to introduce them to ESC, the TIP team is busy planning their next demonstration of the methodology. In late summer or early fall, they will travel to Missouri to demonstrate ESC at the St. Louis Airport Site. The site includes 21 acres just north of the St. Louis Airport that was used for the storage of residues from uranium processing for government nuclear projects following World War II.

"We're looking forward to providing an opportunity for stakeholder input in St. Louis," says Bevolo. "But whether we're talking about St. Louis, Marshalltown or any other site, one thing remains constant -- ultimately, all people have a stake in cleaning up the environment.