The United States may not be able to make all hazardous-waste sites as clean as possible. Therefore, priorities must be set for the timing of waste site remediations. This book assesses several of the government's methods of ranking sites for remediation and compares the performance of three such models using input data developed from the same set of waste sites. Because inconsistent methods may be neither effective nor prudent, the book recommends that the government consider developing a unified national approach to setting priorities to replace the current multiple approaches.

Across the United States, thousands of hazardous waste sites are contaminated with chemicals that prevent the underlying groundwater from meeting drinking water standards. These include Superfund sites and other facilities that handle and dispose of hazardous waste, active and inactive dry cleaners, and leaking underground storage tanks; many are at federal facilities such as military installations. While many sites have been closed over the past 30 years through cleanup programs run by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. EPA, and other state and federal agencies, the remaining caseload is much more difficult to address because the nature of the contamination and subsurface conditions make it difficult to achieve drinking water standards in the affected groundwater. Alternatives for Managing the Nation's Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites estimates that at least 126,000 sites across the U.S. still have contaminated groundwater, and their closure is expected to cost at least $110 billion to $127 billion. About 10 percent of these sites are considered "complex," meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations. At sites where contaminant concentrations have plateaued at levels above cleanup goals despite active efforts, the report recommends evaluating whether the sites should transition to long-term management, where risks would be monitored and harmful exposures prevented, but at reduced costs.

Hazardous waste management is a complex, interdisciplinary field that continues to grow and change as global conditions change. Mastering this evolving and multifaceted field of study requires knowledge of the sources and generation of hazardous wastes, the scientific and engineering principles necessary to eliminate the threats they pose to people and the environment, the laws regulating their disposal, and the best or most cost-effective methods for dealing with them. Written for students with some background in engineering, this comprehensive, highly acclaimed text does not only provide detailed instructions on how to solve hazardous waste problems but also guides students to think about ways to approach these problems. Each richly detailed, self-contained chapter ends with a set of discussion topics and problems. Case studies, with equations and design examples, are provided throughout the book to give students the chance to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatment and containment technologies.

Every practicing environmental engineer should already have a firm grasp on the basics of hazardous waste site remediation-the key to confronting a site problem, and devising an effective solution. Since their original introduction to remediation, technology has kept moving ahead with new ideas and procedures. Fundamentals of Hazardous Waste Site Remediation gives environmental professionals immediate access to the basics of the trade, along with information about recent advancements. This comprehensive overview examines the basics of such areas as hazardous materials chemistry, hydrogeology, reaction engineering, and clean-up level development. A chapter on Cost Estimating will be of particular interest to specialists, in light of recent concerns about the increased costs of remediation. After reading each chapter, test your new knowledge with the review problems. As a refresher guide for career environmental engineers, or a helpful tool to newcomers in the field, Fundamentals of Hazardous Waste Site Remediation is a valuable resource for longtime professionals and newcomers alike.