Contaminants in the Subsurface : Source Zone Assessment and Remediation Hardback

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 ContentsFront MatterExecutive Summary1 Introduction2 Source Zones3 Source Zone Characterization4 Objectives for Source Remediation5 Source Remediation Technology Options6 Elements of a Decision Protocol for Source RemediationAppendix A: Tables on Contaminants at Army and Other FacilitiesAppendix B: Abbreviations and AcronymsAppendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and NRCStaff