Objective:
At Site ST012, Williams Air Force Base, Arizona, the Air Force is conducting and evaluating a pilot test of thermally enhanced extraction for reducing the mass and longevity of a multicomponent fuel source residing in the saturated zone to meet agreed-upon remedial action objectives in groundwater. Novel tools will be applied to measure and analyze mass flux in the source zone before and after the pilot test. To make the best use of the innovative testing and analyses being conducted at ST012, this project seeks to generalize the results to other sites to improve state-of-the-art approaches to characterizing the mass, distribution, and projected longevity of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) source areas, as well as the potential costs and benefits of partial source reduction. The lack of accurate and technically defensible estimates of source mass and persistence is a major obstacle for determining the optimal path to cleanup at nearly all Department of Defense (DoD) facilities impacted by NAPLs. In addition, the lack of peer-reviewed and generally accepted procedures for evaluating source mass and longevity has hampered timely decision making regarding source treatment. Technology Description: As part of the Air Force work at ST012, mass flux will be measured before and after the pilot test using innovative tools, including integral pumping tests combined with the deployment of passive flux meters and multicomponent modeling using the source zone depletion function of SEAM3D (Sequential Electron Acceptor Model, 3D). ESTCP support will be used to generalize the results of the tools deployed at ST012 to other DoD sites with NAPL sources in unconsolidated geologic settings and to develop peer-reviewed guidance for assessing source mass and persistence. Field data from the pilot test at ST012 also will provide an opportunity to rigorously validate the analytical basis of the SEAM3D source depletion function developed under SERDP project ER-1349. Expected Benefits: Better estimates of NAPL mass, its persistence into the future, and the potential impact of source reduction will allow DoD to make rational, scientifically defensible decisions related to when and to what degree active remediation efforts should be pursued. In many cases, it is not clear how well DoD investments in innovative source treatment technologies pay off (in terms of reduced risk or cost) because of the difficulty associated with measuring and quantifying remedial performance and predicting long-term outcomes. The tools and procedures developed through this project have the potential to significantly improve the evaluation of source treatment benefits and risks. Furthermore, their application is expected to simplify the development of data quality objectives and the definition of data collection needs, which will result in significant time and cost savings for DoD at NAPL-impacted sites. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2010) Principal Investigator: Dr. Michael Kavanaugh Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 2000 Powell Street, Suite 1180 Emeryville, CA 94608 Telephone: (510) 735-3010 Fax: (510) 596-8855 E-mail: mkavanaugh@pirnie.com DoD Liaison: Mr. William Lopp HQ AFCEE/BCE 3300 Sidney Brooks Brooks City-Base, TX 78235 Telephone: (210) 536-5030 Fax: (210) 536-3609 E-mail: william.lopp@brooks.af.mil
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