May 11, 1998

(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)

For More Information: Anne Elliott (202) 586-1607

Background: Claire Sink (301) 903-7928

**MULTI STATE - U.S. EPA JOINT VERIFICATION OF TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE**

**IS SUCCESSFUL FOR AN INNOVATIVE SOIL REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY**

Environmental regulators from seven states and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) collaborated with the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) and an industrial consortium to demonstrate the performance of an
innovate environmental soil remediation technology, named Lasagna
\[TM\]. To assess cost and performance for removing trichloroethylene
(TCE) from low-permeability soils, the demonstration was at DOE's
Paducah, KY, site and it was successful. The states, EPA, DOE's Office
of Science and Technology, and the industrial consortium led by Monsanto
collaborated through the Rapid Commercialization Initiative (RCI), an
interagency-interstate partnership. The Southern States Energy Board
facilitated state regulatory participation.

Industrial partners in the consortium are Monsanto, General Electric,
and Dupont. A technology verification statement, the final product,
reported performance and cost results, listed contacts for participating
regulators, and was signed by all partnership participants. The last
letter of concurrence has just arrived at Monsanto. States not having a
statute authorizing verification of technology performance preferred to
concur with rather than sign the report.

Collaboration among regulators from multiple states and U.S. EPA in one
demonstration of an innovative environmental remediation technology is a
new way of doing business. This interstate-interagency partnership has
demonstrated the feasibility of several regulatory bodies working
together as a collegial team. Previously, each state (or site) conducted
its own demonstration of a technology and assessed its effectiveness
before regulatory permits would be issued.

A collaborative - cooperative approach saves time and money for
regulators, private sector technology holders, and DOE. Because one
demonstration was sufficient for seven states and federal EPA, a need
for additional demonstrations in other states (or sites) interested in
using the technology was precluded. All states participated in a common
demonstration of the technology. Overlapping or contradictory issues
were addressed and jointly resolved in real time during the
demonstration by the team.

-more-

Add-1

Joint Verification of Innovative Technology

A resulting verification statement summarized the environmental problem
set, technology performance, and cost data. A listing of participating
regulators and other team members is included.

Contamination of low permeability soils with trichloroethylene (TCE) is
a major environmental clean up problem. During the 1960-1980s, TCE was
used as a degreasing agent for cleaning aircraft, circuit boards, and as
a general low-cost inert solvent at DOD and DOE facilities. Currently,
TCE is thought to be carcinogenic and has a federal drinking water
standard of 5 ppbw. TCE contamination of soils is a major source of TCE
groundwater contamination at many government and private facilities.

The cleanup objective was met at two of the five locations and
reductions of TCE at the remaining three locations were sufficient.
Lasagna \[TM\] was selected as a treatment option for the Paducah Site
Proposed Clean Up Plan. A Record of Decision (ROD) is being completed
for the Lasagna \[TM\] technology for the specific area; public comment
on the ROD has been completed. Signing of the ROD is expected by the end
of September 1998.

Lasagna \[TM\] soil remediation technology is a soil treatment for
in-situ removal of TCE and other chlorinated solvents from contaminated
low-permeability soils, thereby reducing or eliminating generation of
hazardous waste or toxic air emissions associated with soil removal and
treatment. The technology uses electro-osmosis to move contaminated
water through specially-designed zones that degrade the waste in-situ.

The demonstration objective was to show that Lasagna \[TM\] could reduce
TCE concentrations in soil to below 5.6 ppmw. The specific site was a
former storage cylinder drop test area with relatively shallow TCE
penetration, detailed soil characterization data, and low soil
permeability.

The demonstration occurred in a treatment cell measuring 21 feet wide by
30 feet deep within a larger TCE contaminated volume. Initial soil
average concentrations at five locations were 18, 42, 52, 34, and 34
ppmw, respectively. After 11 months of treatment, average concentrations
of 0.87, 24, 0.16, 11, and 9.2 ppmw, were measured. At two locations,
Lasagna \[TM\] met cleanup goals 95% of the time; at two other
locations, significant cleanup occurred. No TCE air emissions were
detected above the treatment cell.

Potential licensees for the Lasagna \[TM\] technology are: CDM Federal,
Geokinetics, Weiss and Associates, and Ogden Environmental.

**-** more **-**

Add-2

Joint Verification of Innovative Technology

RCI is an interstate-interagency partnership established in 1995 to ease
commercialization of environmental technologies and to establish a
collaborative strategy between private sector technology developers,
federal agencies, and regulator bodies at national, state, and local
levels. RCI was established to fix barriers to environmental technology
commercialization through collaboration.

RCI's goal is to strengthen and streamline regulatory review and
acceptance of innovative environmental technologies across state and
federal jurisdictions. RCI partners include: the departments of
Commerce, Defense, and Energy; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
State of California Environmental Protection Agency, Southern States
Energy Board, and the Western Governors' Association.

For private sector participants, RCI provided: (1) a test bed for
demonstrating innovative environmental technology; (2) verification of
technology performance under specified conditions; and (3) facilitated
expediting permits for future projects through multi state participation
in technology demonstrations. Industrial partners can use the multi
state verification statement to facilitate more expedient regulatory
permitting, while accelerating site remediation schedules and lowering
DOE's site mortgage costs.

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