A technical approach to groundwater contamination problems

Conference · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993

OSTI ID:10165470

Burton, J C; Leser, C; Rose, C M

Argonne National Laboratory has been performing technical investigations at sites in Nebraska and Kansas that have identified groundwater contamination by carbon tetrachloride. This comprehensive program will ultimately provide the affected communities with safe drinking water. The first step in the program is to evaluate the available data and identify sites that will require an Alternate Water Supply Study (AWSS). The objective of the AWSS is to identify options for providing a safe drinking water supply to all users, in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The AWSS consists of an engineering and cost evaluation followed by implementation of the selected alternative. For sites with contamination less than a specific concentration, the AWSS is regarded as a satisfactory long term solution, and no further action is taken. For those sites with concentrations above that specific limit, the AWSS implementation is regarded as only a stopgap measure, and the site is selected for additional remedial action. The first step of the remedial action is an Expedited Site Characterization (ESC). The ESC was developed at Argonne to decrease the cost and time of the remedial investigation and feasibility study while producing a high-quality technical investigation. The ESC is designed to characterize the contaminant plume configuration and movement, which requires an understanding of the geological and hydrogeologic controls on groundwater movement as well as the nature and extent of any remaining carbon tetrachloride source in the soils. The ESC program uses a multidisciplinary technical approach that incorporates geology, geochemistry, geohydrology, and geophysics. Field activities include sampling, chemical analysis, and borehole and surface geophysical surveys.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 10165470
• Report Number(s): ANL/ER/CP-79580; CONF-9306159-2; ON: DE93014876; TRN: 93:015333
• Resource Relation: Conference: 1993 Society of Women Engineers (SWE) conference,Chicago, IL (United States),21-27 Jun 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1993]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
GROUND WATER
CONTAMINATION
NEBRASKA
WATER POLLUTION
KANSAS
CARBON TETRACHLORIDE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
ANL
DRINKING WATER
COST
MONITORING
REMEDIAL ACTION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
PUBLIC UTILITIES
540220
552000
CHEMICALS MONITORING AND TRANSPORT
PUBLIC HEALTH