Containment and permeable reactive barriers have come full circle as an acceptable environmental control technology during the past 30 years. As interest shifted back toward containment in the 1990s, the industry found itself relying largely on pre-1980s technology. Fortunately, in the past 10 years important advances have occurred in several areas
Containment and permeable reactive barriers have come full circle as an acceptable environmental control technology during the past 30 years. As interest shifted back toward containment in the 1990s, the industry found itself relying largely on pre-1980s technology. Fortunately, in the past 10 years important advances have occurred in several areas of containment, most notably in the area of permeable barriers. A balanced presentation of what is known and not known, Barrier Systems for Contaminant Containment and Environmental Treatment provides a comprehensive report on the current state of the science and technology of waste containment. Comprehensive and easily read, this book is rich with discussions and references to literature. Setting the stage for how contaminants can get into the subsurface, the authors describe pathways and introduce the essential concepts of risk. They provide details on the current state of the art for performance prediction and clearly delineate the limitations in modeling specific situations. The book addresses the materials used in barriers, defines their properties, and explores how they perform in the field. It describes available technologies and addresses their applications to various types of barriers. Tackling perhaps the most challenging aspect of waste containment technology, the book includes two case studies that demonstrate the value of validating field performance. Subsurface containment and treatment barriers will continue to be a widely used environmental control technology in the years ahead. Representing the collective knowledge and efforts of leading experts from research, industry, and regulatory agencies, this book provides a valuable reference that helps to chart the way to successfully managing many contaminated sites.
President Carter's 1980 declaration of a state of emergency at Love Canal, New York, recognized that residents' health had been affected by nearby chemical waste sites. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, enacted in 1976, ushered in a new era of waste management disposal designed to protect the public from harm. It required that modern waste containment systems use "engineered" barriers designed to isolate hazardous and toxic wastes and prevent them from seeping into the environment. These containment systems are now employed at thousands of waste sites around the United States, and their effectiveness must be continually monitored. Assessment of the Performance of Engineered Waste Containment Barriers assesses the performance of waste containment barriers to date. Existing data suggest that waste containment systems with liners and covers, when constructed and maintained in accordance with current regulations, are performing well thus far. However, they have not been in existence long enough to assess long-term (postclosure) performance, which may extend for hundreds of years. The book makes recommendations on how to improve future assessments and increase confidence in predictions of barrier system performance which will be of interest to policy makers, environmental interest groups, industrial waste producers, and industrial waste management industry.
Containment barrier systems are among the most widely used technologies for remediating contaminated sites. Various structures have been engineered to address site-specific needs, while barrier selection depends largely on whether regulatory requirements are prescriptive, or performance based. This publication provides an introduction to the design and construction of different containment barriers for low-level radioactive waste generated from remediation activities: basal (bottom) liners, final covers, in situ vertical barriers and in situ permeable reactive barriers. Practical aspects of each structure are discussed in theoretical case studies, which allow remediation project designers, implementers and regulators to make more informed decisions about the use of these barriers.
This is the third volume of the proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (ICEG 2018), held on October 28 - November 1, 2018 in Hangzhou, China. The theme of the congress is “Towards a Sustainable Geoenvironment”, which means meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Under this theme, the congress covers a broad range of topics and provides an excellent opportunity for academics, engineers, scientists, government officials, regulators, and planners to present, discuss and exchange notes on the latest advances and developments in the research and application of environmental geotechnics.
Environmental remediation technologies to control or prevent pollution from hazardous waste material is a growing research area in academia and industry, and is a matter of utmost concern to public health, to improve ecology and to facilitate the redevelopment of a contaminated site. Recently, in situ and ex situ remediation technologies have been developed to rectify the contaminated sites, utilizing various tools and devices through physical, chemical, biological, electrical, and thermal processes to restrain, remove, extract, and immobilize mechanisms to minimize the contamination effects. This handbook brings altogether classical and emerging techniques for hazardous wastes, municipal solid wastes and contaminated water sites, combining chemical, biological and engineering control methods to provide a one-stop reference. This handbook presents a comprehensive and thorough description of several remediation techniques for contaminated sites resulting from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Providing critical insights into a range of treatments from chemical oxidation, thermal treatment, air sparging, electrokinetic remediation, stabilization/solidification, permeable reactive barriers, thermal desorption and incineration, phytoremediation, biostimulation and bioaugmentation, bioventing and biosparging through ultrasound-assisted remediation methods, electrochemical remediation methods, and nanoremediation, this handbook provides the reader an inclusive and detailed overview and then discusses future research directions. Closing chapters on green sustainable remediation, economics, health and safety issues, and environmental regulations around site remediation will make this a must-have handbook for those working in the field.
Waste management can be problematic. Especially with the emphasis in many countries now being on sustainability, there is a great need for more research on disposal methods. While we have found ways to reduce the volume of waste that needs to disposed. questions remain about the environmental and safety aspects of certain recycled materials and the by-products of waste management activities, current technology improvements, and regulatory and monitoring problems. Featuring papers published at the Sixth International Conference on Waste Management and the Environment, this book contains contributions on the topics such as: Advanced Waste Treatment Technology, Wastewater Treatment; Resources Recovery; Waste Incineration and Gasification; Waste Pre-Treatment; Separation and Transformation; Landfills; Soil and Groundwater Clean-up; Public Awareness; Air Pollution Control; Hazardous Waste, Waste Management; Construction and Demolition Waste Costs; Waste Reduction; Reuse and Recycling, Energy from Waste; Electrical Waste; Rare Metals; Computer Modelling; Methodologies and Practices; Risk Assessment; Nuclear Waste; Environmental Economics Assessment; Laws and Regulations; Biological Treatments; Agricultural Wastes.
Although now a growing and respectable research field, crisis management—as a formal area of study—is relatively young, having emerged since the 1980s following a succession of such calamities as the Bhopal gas leak, Chernobyl nuclear accident, Space Shuttle Challenger loss, and Exxon Valdez oil spill. Analysis of organizational failures that caused such events helped drive the emerging field of crisis management. Simultaneously, the world has experienced a number of devastating natural disasters: Hurricane Katrina, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, etc. From such crises, both human-induced and natural, we have learned our modern, tightly interconnected and interdependent society is simply more vulnerable to disruption than in the past. This interconnectedness is made possible in part by crisis management and increases our reliance upon it. As such, crisis management is as beneficial and crucial today as information technology has become over the last few decades. Crisis is varied and unavoidable. While the examples highlighted above were extreme, we see crisis every day within organizations, governments, businesses and the economy. A true crisis differs from a "routine" emergency, such as a water pipe bursting in the kitchen. Per one definition, "it is associated with urgent, high-stakes challenges in which the outcomes can vary widely (and are very negative at one end of the spectrum) and will depend on the actions taken by those involved." Successfully engaging, dealing with, and working through a crisis requires an understanding of options and tools for individual and joint decision making. Our Encyclopedia of Crisis Management comprehensively overviews concepts and techniques for effectively assessing, analyzing, managing, and resolving crises, whether they be organizational, business, community, or political. From general theories and concepts exploring the meaning and causes of crisis to practical strategies and techniques relevant to crises of specific types, crisis management is thoroughly explored. Features & Benefits: A collection of 385 signed entries are organized in A-to-Z fashion in 2 volumes available in both print and electronic formats. Entries conclude with Cross-References and Further Readings to guide students to in-depth resources. Selected entries feature boxed case studies, providing students with "lessons learned" in how various crises were successfully or unsuccessfully managed and why. Although organized A-to-Z, a thematic "Reader′s Guide" in the front matter groups related entries by broad areas (e.g., Agencies & Organizations, Theories & Techniques, Economic Crises, etc.). Also in the front matter, a Chronology provides students with historical perspective on the development of crisis management as a discrete field of study. The work concludes with a comprehensive Index, which—in the electronic version—combines with the Reader′s Guide and Cross-References to provide thorough search-and-browse capabilities. A template for an "All-Hazards Preparedness Plan" is provided the backmatter; the electronic version of this allows students to explore customized response plans for crises of various sorts. Appendices also include a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and internet resources in the field, a Glossary, and a vetted list of crisis management-related degree programs, crisis management conferences, etc.
There may be nearly 300,000 waste sites in the United States where ground water and soil are contaminated. Yet recent studies question whether existing technologies can restore contaminated ground water to drinking water standards, which is the goal for most sites and the result expected by the public. How can the nation balance public health, technological realities, and cost when addressing ground water cleanup? This new volume offers specific conclusions, outlines research needs, and recommends policies that are technologically sound while still protecting health and the environment. Authored by the top experts from industry and academia, this volume: Examines how the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the subsurface environment, as well as the properties of contaminants, complicate the cleanup task. Reviews the limitations of widely used conventional pump-and-treat cleanup systems, including detailed case studies. Evaluates a range of innovative cleanup technologies and the barriers to their full implementation. Presents specific recommendations for policies and practices in evaluating contamination sites, in choosing remediation technologies, and in setting appropriate cleanup goals.
To control the migration of radioactive and hazardous wastes currently contained underground, barriers made of natural materials and man-made substances are constructed atop, and possibly around, the contaminated area. Barrier Technologies for Environmental Management provides a brief summary of the key issues that arose during the Workshop on Barriers for Long-Term Isolation. Recurring themes from the session include the importance of quality control during installation, followed by periodic inspection, maintenance, and monitoring, and documentation of installation and performance data. The book includes papers by the workshop presenters.
