Date Posted: 02/07/20
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TechDirect's purpose is to identify new technical, policy and
guidance resources related to the assessment and remediation of
contaminated soil, sediments and ground water.
Mention of non-EPA documents or presentations does not
constitute a U.S. EPA endorsement of their contents, only an
acknowledgment that they exist and may be relevant to the
TechDirect audience.
Special Announcements
Rapid Response Research Grants Available for Gulf of Mexico Oil
Spill Research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) posted a
special announcement concerning the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
using their Rapid Response Research (RAPID) mechanism on May 27,
2010. To ensure that all resources and possible innovations are
available to help solve this disaster, NSF is encouraging all
companies that have viable solutions to help solve this problem
to submit a one time only proposal to this special announcement.
This Rapid Response Research (RAPID) mechanism has been
regularly used to enable research on unanticipated events such
as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or any other event where a
timely presence is required to enable the research. A number of
RAPID awards were made to support research on the earthquakes
earlier this year in Haiti and Chile, and awards are being made
related to the oil spill. All proposals must be submitted on or
before September 30, 2010. Proposal information is available at
http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/2010_ann_rapid_oil_response.pdf .
Senior Environmental Employee (SEE) Program Position with EPA's
Environmental Response Team. If you are over 55, live in the
vicinity of Erlanger, Kentucky, and are interested in
contributing to EPA's Environmental Response Team mission,
please read on! EPA has a formal relationship with the National
Older Workers Career Center (NOWCC) to support the Senior
Environmental Employee (SEE) Program which provides positions
for individuals aged 55 and older. The SEE employee in this
position will maintain handheld radiation and chemical survey
equipment; alpha, beta, gamma and neutron monitoring
instrumentation; portable gamma spectroscopy instrumentation;
ambient air samplers; alpha-beta scalers; floor monitors;
PID/FID chemical contaminant monitoring equipment; and,
coordinate outside vendor calibration of monitoring and
analytical equipment. This position is located in Erlanger,
Kentucky. To learn more about this particular position, see
http://www.nowcc.org/applicants/positions/ky.aspx?id=767 . If
this is your first time applying for positions administered by
NOWCC, please submit an Initial Application Form to the South
Central Field Office at
http://www.nowcc.org/applicants/initialApplication.aspx . For
questions about NOWCC or this advertised position, contact NOWCC
at (703) 558-4200.
Upcoming Live Internet Seminars
Brownfields Nonprofit Outreach Training - July 6, 2010,
1:00PM-3:00PM EDT (17:00-19:00 GMT). The purpose of this meeting
is to learn about the different types of grants and assistance
available through the Brownfields Program specifically targeting
nonprofits and their partners. For more information and to
register, see http://clu-in.org/live .
US and EU Perspectives on Green and Sustainable Remediation -
July 12, 2010, 10:00AM-12:00PM EDT (14:00-16:00 GMT).
Sustainable remediation is the practice of considering
environmental, social, and economic impacts when restoring
contaminated sites to productive use. During ConSoil 2010
(September 22-24, 2010, in Salzburg, Austria) a special session
entitled "Sustainable Remediation: International Developments"
will take place, focusing on the state of international
implementation of sustainable environmental remediation
(www.consoil.de). On July 12th, an interactive Internet Seminar
will be hosted as a primer to the ConSoil session, wherein
international leaders of sustainable and green remediation
efforts will discuss their drivers and constraints as well as
the impacts of these opportunities and issues on their efforts.
An open forum will be held after the presentations in which
participants will be able to submit questions to the speakers.
The panel will include representatives from the following
organizations: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
Environment Canada; Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF) United
States, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands; EURODEMO+; Network
for Industrially Contaminated Land in Europe (NICOLE); and the
Common Forum on Contaminated Land in Europe. For more
information and to register, see http://clu-in.org/live .
ITRC Use of Risk Assessment in Management of Contaminated Sites,
July 20, 2010, 2:00PM-4:15PM EDT (18:00-20:15 GMT). This
training course identifies how various risk-based approaches and
criteria are applied throughout the processes of screening,
characterization, and management of contaminated sites. The
training course and associated overview document, Use of Risk
Assessment in Management of Contaminated Sites (RISK-2, 2008),
are intended for risk assessors and project managers involved
with the characterization, remediation, and/or re-use of sites.
The training and overview document provide a valuable tool for
federal and state regulatory agencies to demonstrate how site
data collection, risk assessment, and risk management may be
better integrated. For more information and to register, see
http://www.itrcweb.org or http://clu-in.org/live .
ITRC Quality Considerations for Munitions Response Projects,
July 27, 2010, 2:00PM-4:15PM EDT (18:00-20:15 GMT). This
training introduces state regulators, environmental consultants,
site owners, and community stakeholders to Quality
Considerations for Munitions Response Projects (UXO-5, 2008),
created by the ITRC's Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Team. In this
document, quality is defined as "conformance to requirements."
To manage quality, the quality requirements of the project must
first be understood. Requirements must be precisely stated and
clearly understood by everyone involved. A plan is then put in
place to meet those requirements. The UXO Team emphasizes taking
a whole-system approach to designing, planning and managing a
munitions response (MR) project to optimize quality. This
training course is intended for an intermediate audience and
assumes a basic understanding of specialized processes
associated with MR projects. For more information and to
register, see http://www.itrcweb.org or http://clu-in.org/live .
New Documents and Web Resources
OSWER Discussion Forum Focus on Green Remediation. This online
forum provides an opportunity for private citizens,
environmental groups, businesses, community groups, and local
and tribal governments to discuss topics relating to EPAs
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. This most recent
post asks: What green remediation practices have you seen put to
good use? What practices do you think should be used more often?
View online and submit your comments at
http://blog.epa.gov/oswerforum/2010/06/green-remediation/ .
Technology News and Trends (EPA 542-N-10-003). This issue
provides selected updates on innovative technology applications
described in past issues. Some applications moved toward
full-scale implementation at previous study sites while others
drew sites much nearer to cleanup closure (June 2010, 6 pages).
View or download at http://clu-in.org/techpubs.htm .
EUGRIS Corner. EUGRIS Corner. New Documents on EUGRIS, the
platform for European contaminated soil and water information.
More than 29 resources, events, projects and news items were
added to EUGRIS in June 1-24, 2010.These can be viewed at
http://www.eugris.info/whatsnew.asp . Then select the
appropriate month and year for the updates in which you are
interested. The following reports were featured on EUGRIS:
State of the Art Report on Mixture Toxicity (2009). This report
details the findings of a project on mixture toxicology and
ecotoxicology commissioned by the European Commission, DG
Environment. It describes the scientific state of the art in the
field, and gives an account of the regulatory state of the art
for dealing with combined exposures in the European Union, in
major competing economies, including the USA and Japan and in
international bodies. View or download from
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/pdf/report_Mixture%20to
xicity.pdf .
Communicating Understanding of Contaminated Land Risks (2010).
This guidance document is designed to assist those communicating
with the public and other stakeholders about land contamination
risks. It includes: recommendations on how to develop an
effective communication strategy, and practical advice on how to
communicate effectively about land contamination. This guidance
will assist the user in developing a robust communication
strategy that addresses the multitude of complexities inherent
in communicating about land contamination and the associated
risks. View or download from
http://www.sniffer.org.uk/Webcontrol/Secure/ClientSpecific/Resour
ceManagement/UploadedFiles/UKLQ13_Communicating%20Understanding%2
0of%20Contaminated%20Land%20Risks.pdf .
Conferences and Symposia
Vapor Intrusion Pathway: A Practical Guideline ITRC 2-day
Classroom Training, Cambridge, MA, July 12-13, 2010. The ITRC
2-day Vapor Intrusion Pathway class is planned for Cambridge,
Massachusetts (July 12-13) and Atlanta, Georgia (October 4-5).
Led by internationally recognized experts, this 2-day ITRC
classroom training will enable you to learn the latest
strategies to conduct site screening and investigations;
determine what tools are appropriate to collect quality data and
evaluate the results; apply multiple lines of evidence to ensure
quality decision-making; build solutions for VI issues through
understanding of mitigation options; and network with
environmental professionals dealing with this interdisciplinary
and complex pathway. Interactive learning with hands-on
exhibits, classroom exercises, and frequent Q&A sessions will
reinforce these course objectives and contribute to a practical
understanding of this difficult pathway. This course meets
continuing education requirements of Massachusetts Licensed Site
Professionals (LSPs) and Connecticut Licensed Environmental
Professionals (LEPs). For more information and to register, see
http://www.itrcweb.org/crt.asp .
National Environmental Monitoring Conference (NEMC) 2010,
Washington, DC, August 9-13, 2010. The National Environmental
Monitoring Conference (NEMC) brings together scientists and
managers from federal and state agencies, the regulated
community, and laboratory and engineering support communities.
It includes technical sessions, training courses, exhibits, and
networking opportunities. As in previous years, this year's
conference is being combined with the Forum on Laboratory
Accreditation under the umbrella of the Environmental
Measurement Symposium to allow many attendees to minimize travel
costs. The Forum consists of meetings of a number of committees
of The NELAC Institute (TNI). The technical program will feature
over 100 technical presentations on recent developments in
environmental monitoring. The Environmental Laboratory Advisory
Board (ELAB), a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S. EPA, will
also be having an open public meeting to discuss their efforts
on topics such as the performance approach and laboratory
accreditation. For more information and to register, see
http://www.nemc.us .
Call for Ideas!! Brownfields 2011 Conference, Philadelphia, PA,
April 3-5, 2011. This year the Brownfields 2011 Planning
Committee wants to encourage more interactive educational
sessions in hopes to have at least 60 percent using the always
popular marketplace/roundtable format and the newly established
public dialogue/debate format. Topics should fall under the
categories of: Community Engagement and Environmental Justice;
Green Jobs; Green Technology and Emerging Solutions; Planning
for Community Revitalization; Sustainability, the Path Forward;
and The Business of Brownfields. The Call for Ideas will be open
and accepting submissions for full sessions, short
presentations, and poster gallery ideas until July 30, 2010. For
more information and to submit an idea, see
http://www.brownfields2011.org/en/Article/4/Call_for_Ideas_is_Now
_Open .
NOTE: For TechDirect, we prefer to concentrate mainly on new
documents and the Internet live events. However, we do support
an area on CLU-IN where announcement of conferences and courses
can be regularly posted. Currently there are 91 conferences and
courses featured. We invite sponsors to input information on
their events at http://clu-in.org/courses . Likewise, readers
may visit this area for news of upcoming events that might be of
interest. It allows users to search events by location, topic,
time period, etc.
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