# Presentation: 204675

## Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation Perspective

- Elizabeth Southerland, Ph.D.
- Director, Assessment & Remediation Division
- Office of Superfund Remediation & Technology Innovation
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

## Overview	

- What is OSRTI?
- Why do we need research and technical support?
- How do we participate in research planning?
- How do we get research and technical support results?
- How do we use research and technical support results?

## Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation

**Michael B. Cook, Director**
**Charles Sutfin,  Deputy Director**

**Resources**
**Management Division**

**Technology Innovation**
** ****and Field Services Division**** **

**Assessment and **
**Remediation Division**

- Human
- Resources
- Branch

- Contracts
- Management
- Branch

- Information
- Management
- Branch

- Analytical
-  Services Branch

- Technology Integration
- & Information
- Branch

- State, Tribe, &
- Site Identification
- Branch

- Community Involvement
- & Outreach Branch

- Regions 1, 2, 6, 9, 10
- Support Branch

- Regions 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
- Support Branch

***11/2/05***

- Environmental
- Response Team

- Science Policy
- Branch

- Budget, Planning, &
-  Evaluation Branch

- Technology Assessment
- Branch

## Office of Superfund Remediation & Technology Innovation

- Assessment & Remediation
- Oversees investigations and lists sites
- Ensures that cleanup decisions are based on sound science
- Addresses long-term stewardship needs

- Technology Innovation & Field Services
- Advocates more effective, less costly approaches
- Provides technology & market information
- Informs Superfund, RCRA, UST, Brownfields, and State programs

## OSRTI Performance Measures

- Measures with targets:
- Final site assessment decisions
- Final remedy selected
- Human exposures under control
- Contaminated ground water migration under control
- Construction completions
- Efficiency measure:
- Site-specific charging
- Acres/Sites Ready for Reuse

## Need for Research and Technical Support

- Long-term research is needed to help us:
- Develop new lab and field-based analysis methods
- Assess risk from emerging contaminants
- Develop new, cost-effective cleanup technologies
- Short-term research is needed to help us:
- Better design site characterization methods to make use of real time data
- More accurately assess exposure and risk
- Assess the feasibility of innovative technologies
- Assess the effectiveness of cleanup technologies & long-term stewardship methods
- Technical support is needed to help us:
- Apply up-to-date methods and research results to site work

## OSRTI/ORD Coordination in Research Planning

## Assessment of Research Needs

- Needs proposed by:
- Science Policy & Technology Innovation branches
- Regional Superfund Divisions & Regional Science Council
- Groundwater & Engineering Forums
- Contaminated Sediment Technical Advisory Group
- Risk Assessment Forum (Human Health)
- Ecological Risk Assessment Forum
- Needs prioritized by OSRTI &
-      Regional Research Advisory Groups

## Recipients of Research Results 

- Internal
- Project managers and risk assessors
- Site teams and decision-makers
- Other EPA researchers
- External
- Site consultants
- Technology developers
- Other Federal agency researchers
- Wider scientific community

## Making Results Accessible to Project Managers

- Seminars for project managers & risk assessors
- Training courses for EPA & public
- Participation in National Association of Remedial Project Managers meetings
- Fact sheets for RPMs
- Summary reports
- Web postings
- Direct communication with Hazardous Substance Technical Liaisons

## How do we USE research results?

- Direct/site support applications:
- ORD Technical Support Centers
- Individual site-specific support
- Indirect/multiple site applications:
- Technology development (e.g., permeable reactive barriers, alternative covers, sediment sampler)
- Guidance development (e.g., Eco-SSLs, sediments)
- Model development/validation (e.g., Pro-UCL, EFDC)
- Exposure factors & toxicity values (e.g., dermal, IRIS)

## Example Research/Site Support Link:Multi-phase Monitoring at Ruby Gulch Waste Rock Repository 

- How to effectively monitor 64-acre waste repository?
- Automated monitoring of resistivity,  ground water, pore-gas, temperature & pressure

## Example Research/Site Support Link:Photo-activated Toxicity of PAHs

- Duluth/Superior Harbor
- State-lead coal tar site
- In-situ exposures of fish & daphnids to test question:
-    Does UVA radiation from sunlight create additional risk?

## Example Research/Site Support Link:Intact surface sediment sampling

- How to collect undisturbed surface sediment samples?
- Laboratory testing of  existing samplers
- Design of new/modified sampler to meet Superfund’s need

## Example Research/Guidance Link: Monitored Natural Recovery of Contaminated Sediment 

- Multiple media site studies at Lake Harwell Superfund Site
- Collaboration on MNR chapter of Sediment Guidance
- Development of Technical Resource Document for MNR

## ORD Participation on Superfund Review Boards

- National Remedy Review Board
- Reviews all site remedies over $25M
- Support in:
- Ground water characterization & remediation  technologies
- Innovative treatment technologies
- Contaminated Sediment Technical Advisory Group
- Cradle-to-grave oversight of large complex sediment sites
- Support in:
- Fate & transport modeling
- PCB chemistry & data analysis

##     Both arms of ORD  – research and technical support – are critical to informed development of  innovative technologies and effective characterization and cleanup of Superfund sites.	

-     Both arms of ORD  – research and technical support – are critical to informed development of  innovative technologies and effective characterization and cleanup of Superfund sites.