SGER: Rapid Assessment Techniques in Support of Soil/Sediment Removal Strategies for Katrina Cleanup

Colorado School Of Mines, Golden CO

Investigators

Abstract

0553970 Ranville Arguably the most immediate health and environmental need for the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is in providing clean drinking water. Once this problem is under control attention must be turned to the removal of vast quantities of soil and sediment deposited within urban areas such as New Orleans. An urgent question to be answered is whether this material does or does not contain chemical contaminants at levels of concern. The answer to this question will define how and where the material can be disposed, what degree of personal protection gear must be worn by workers removing this material, and if any further environmental concerns will be posed by this material after removal. There are two questions that must be answered in order to move forward with soil and sediment removal. First of all, is the material considered hazardous waste and must therefore be disposed of in special landfills? And second question is, does the material pose a toxicity risk to humans and/or the environment? Both of these questions must be answered in a matter of weeks. This urgency poses a challenge to some of the conventional means of addressing these questions. Clearly new assessment approaches are needed in this case. We are proposing to answer each of these two questions through the application and validation of new techniques that we have been developing, generally in the context of mine site evaluations. We will apply to these samples an acidic solution (acetic acid) designed to leach contaminants from the solids under conditions that simulate a landfill. This field-based test will be developed and calibrated by comparison to standard TCLP tests. The measurements will focus on toxic metals (Pb, As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, etc.) with an emphasis on lead and arsenic. In this way we will determine if a need for specialized disposal of these materials exists. The goal here is to make a field-portable method that approximates the results of the slower and more laborious EPA-approved TCLP test.