Contaminants in the Subsurface

At hundreds of thousands of commercial, industrial, and military sites across the country, subsurface materials including groundwater are contaminated with chemical waste. The last decade has seen growing interest in using aggressive source remediation technologies to remove contaminants from the subsurface, but there is limited understanding of (1) the effectiveness of these technologies and (2) the overall effect of mass removal on groundwater quality. This report reviews the suite of technologies available for source remediation and their ability to reach a variety of cleanup goals, from meeting regulatory standards for groundwater to reducing costs. The report proposes elements of a protocol for accomplishing source remediation that should enable project managers to decide whether and how to pursue source remediation at their sites. Table of Contents Front Matter Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Source Zones 3 Source Zone Characterization 4 Objectives for Source Remediation 5 Source Remediation Technology Options 6 Elements of a Decision Protocol for Source Remediation Appendix A: Tables on Contaminants at Army and Other Facilities Appendix B: Abbreviations and Acronyms Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and NRC Staff