Studies at numerous sites have shown high variability in the degradation rates of chlorinated solvents as measured by microcosm studies with 14C labeled contaminants. The ability of nutrient and carbon additions to stimulate degradation can vary widely. Although some of these variations can be related to the structure of the extant microbial community, the presence of other less refractory contaminants may be critical fctors impacting the rate of chlorocarbon mineralization. Relaatively highe rates of TCE degradation have been observed in the DOE K-25 burial grounds with diverse organic loadings as well as in areas that show evidence for hydrocarbon contamination. Similarly, at other sites where there was TCE in the absence of hydrocarbons or other contaminants, the measured degradation rates have often been found to be very low. At various other sites, the intrasite variability in degradation rates appeared to be related to the presence of hydrocarbon contamination. The highest rates were observed at sites with evidence of hydrocarbons. These observations indicated that the viability of natural attenuation as a remediation option for chlorinated solvents might depend in part on the presence co-contaminants such as hydrocarbons or natural matter.

In the past decade, officials responsible for clean-up of contaminated groundwater have increasingly turned to natural attenuation-essentially allowing naturally occurring processes to reduce the toxic potential of contaminants-versus engineered solutions. This saves both money and headaches. To the people in surrounding communities, though, it can appear that clean-up officials are simply walking away from contaminated sites. When is natural attenuation the appropriate approach to a clean-up? This book presents the consensus of a diverse committee, informed by the views of researchers, regulators, and community activists. The committee reviews the likely effectiveness of natural attenuation with different classes of contaminants-and describes how to evaluate the "footprints" of natural attenuation at a site to determine whether natural processes will provide adequate clean-up. Included are recommendations for regulatory change. The committee emphasizes the importance of the public's belief and attitudes toward remediation and provides guidance on involving community stakeholders throughout the clean-up process. The book explores how contamination occurs, explaining concepts and terms, and includes case studies from the Hanford nuclear site, military bases, as well as other sites. It provides historical background and important data on clean-up processes and goes on to offer critical reviews of 14 published protocols for evaluating natural attenuation.

Natural attenuation was first demonstrated at sites with hydrocarbon contamination, but recent studies at sites contaminated by chlorinated compounds have shown that this approach often has merit for these more challenging contamination problems. This volume covers natural attenuation in media ranging from deep aquifers to shallow soils, and for contaminants ranging from fuels to solvents to herbicides, and offers the reader a comprehensive overview of case studies that represent the state of the art in natural attenuation approaches to site remediation.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, our nation began to grapple with the legacy of past disposal practices for toxic chemicals. With the passage in 1980 of the Comprehensive Envir- mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Sup- fund, it became the law of the land to remediate these sites. The U. S. Department of Defense (DoD), the nation’s largest industrial organization, also recognized that it too had a legacy of contaminated sites. Historic operations at Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps facilities, ranges, manufacturing sites, shipyards, and depots had resulted in widespread contamination of soil, groundwater, and sediment. While Superfund began in 1980 to focus on remediation of heavily contaminated sites largely abandoned or neglected by the private sector, the DoD had already initiated its Installation Restoration Program in the mid-1970s. In 1984, the DoD began the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) for contaminated site assessment and remediation. Two years later, the U. S. Congress codified the DERP and directed the Secretary of Defense to carry out a concurrent program of research, development, and demonstration of innovative remediation technologies. As chronicled in the 1994 National Research Council report, “Ranking Hazardous-Waste Sites for Remedial Action,” our early estimates on the cost and suitability of existing techn- ogies for cleaning up contaminated sites were wildly optimistic. Original estimates, in 1980, projected an average Superfund cleanup cost of a mere $3.

Chlorinated solvents like tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) are the most common detected groundwater contaminants at Department of Defense installations in the United States. Unfortunately, technologies conventionally used to remediate chlorinated solvent-contaminated groundwater often fall short of achieving regulatory goals. Natural attenuation of chlorinated solvents offers an alternative remediation strategy that may achieve goals. However, the processes involved with natural attenuation are not fully understood, and this lack of understanding has hindered acceptance of natural attenuation by regulatory agencies. This study involved use of a numerical model that incorporated the physical, chemical, and biological processes thought to be relevant to the fate and transport of chlorinated ethenes in the subsurface. The model was used to conduct a parameter sensitivity analysis, to investigate the effect of non-linear and rate-limited sorption processes on the natural attenuation of chlorinated ethenes. The model showed that both rate-limited and non-linear sorption resulted in early arrival of contaminant at wells downgradient of a source area, as well as persistence of contamination at the wells for long periods of time.

The first comprehensive guide to one of today's most innovative approaches to environmental contamination Natural attenuation is gaining increasing attention as a nonintrusive, cost-effective alternative to standard remediation techniques for environmental contamination. This landmark work presents the first in-depth examination of the theory, mechanisms, and application of natural attenuation. Written by four internationally recognized leaders in this approach, the book describes both biotic and abiotic natural attenuation processes, focusing on two of the environmental contaminants most frequently encountered in groundwater--fuels and chlorinated solvents. The authors draw on a wealth of combined experience to detail successful techniques for simulating natural attenuation processes and predicting their effectiveness in the field. They also show how natural attenuation works in the real world, using numerous examples and case studies from a wide range of leading-edge projects nationwide involving fuel hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents. Finally, they discuss the evaluation and assessment of natural attenuation and explore the design of long-term monitoring programs. An indispensable reference for anyone working in environmental remediation, Natural Attenuation of Fuels and Chlorinated Solvents in the Subsurface is essential reading for scientists and engineers in a range of industries, as well as state and federal environmental regulators, and professors and graduate students in environmental or chemical engineering.

Over the past several years remediation by natural attenuation has become increasingly accepted as a remedial alternative for organic compounds dissolved in groundwater. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) defines natural attenuation as (OSWER, 1996): The term 'Natural Attenuation' refers to naturally-occurring processes in soil and groundwater environments that act without human intervention to reduce the mass, toxicity, mobility, volume, or concentration of contaminants in those media. These in-situ processes include biodegradation, dispersion, dilution, adsorption, volatilization, and chemical or biological stabilization or destruction of contaminants. In practice, natural attenuation also is referred to by several other names, such as intrinsic remediation, intrinsic bioremediation, natural restoration, or passive bioremediation. The goal of any site characterization effort is to understand the fate and transport of the contaminants of concern over time in order to assess any current or potential threat to human health or the environment. Natural attenuation processes, such as biodegradation, can often be dominant factors in the fate and transport of contaminants. Thus, consideration and quantification of natural attenuation is essential to a more thorough understanding of contaminant fate and transport.