Under the Superfund program, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) places some of the most seriously contaminated sites on the National Priorities List (NPL). At the end of fiscal year 2013, nonfederal sites made up about 90 percent of these sites. At these sites, EPA undertakes remedial action projects to permanently and significantly reduce contamination. Remedial action projects can take a considerable amount of time and money, depending on the nature of the contamination and other site-specific factors. This book examines, for fiscal years 1999 through 2013, the trends in the annual federal appropriations to the Superfund program and EPA expenditures for remedial cleanup activities at nonfederal sites on the NPL; and the number of nonfederal sites on the NPL, the number of remedial action project completions, and the number of construction completions at nonfederal NPL sites. Furthermore, the book examines how EPA addresses the cleanup of sites it has identified as eligible for the NPL; how the processes for implementing the Superfund Alternative (SA) and NPL approaches compare; and how SA agreement sites compare with similar NPL sites in completing the cleanup process.

Book & CD. The development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has created new demand for wastewater disposal wells that inject waste fluids into deep geologic strata. An increasing concern in the United States is that injection of these fluids may be responsible for increasing rates of seismic activity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program regulates injection of fluids related to oil and gas production as Class II injection wells for the protection of underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). Because seismic events from injection have the potential to cause endangerment of underground sources of drinking water, the UIC program director should be aware of that potential and be prepared with response options should seismic events become a concern. This purpose of this book is to discuss the relationship between deep-well injections and induced seismicity.

The growing quantities of waste sludge generated in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants containing various organics and other contaminants require novel treatment technologies that are capable of achieving significant removal efficiencies and producing reusable sludge products. As a response, a large variety of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been investigated to remove the present contaminants from wastewaters and limited cases of waste sludge. Multidisciplinary researches have been carried out accordingly. In this regard, electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) have emerged as novel environmental-friendly and effective treatment technologies for the elimination of several organic contaminants. Considerable validation of these methods has been performed at both the bench-scale and pilot-scale. Although a promising new technology, the mechanisms involved in the oxidation of organic compounds during electrochemical advanced oxidation processes and the corresponding environmental impacts have not been completely addressed until now. This book aims at the electrochemical advanced oxidation processes occurrence from different points of view, describing its related technologies, providing an assessment of the development and efficiency, and highlighting various aspects of waste activated sludge stabilisation and reuse accordingly in five chapters. In the first chapter a brief review to waste sludge stabilisation and reuse has been presented. The second chapter provides an overview to advanced oxidation processes. The third chapter describes the various electrochemical advanced oxidation methods. Chapter four presents and discusses the own experimental investigations results employing the Fered-Fenton EAOP. The modeling of the results of the own experimental studies results by means of Taguchi method and artificial neural networks has been performed in the fifth chapter. The main goal of this book is to gather different updated viewpoints according to the electrochemical advanced oxidation processes and to provide the own experimental studies results accordingly in order to present students, researchers, engineers and managers with useful knowledge in this regard.

Landfills have been targeted by geophysical methods in order to investigate their environmental impacts. In fact, landfills have been the classic way to deposit domestic and industrial waste and have generated a large range of negative environmental impacts in groundwater and soils. These problems often persist even after the effective use of the landfills and subsequent recovery processes. Owing to their characteristics, landfills are difficult to access and because of the general lack of accurate information regarding the shape, nature of the refuse, history and development of the landfill, non-invasive, non-destructive methods and sometimes autonomous data acquisition devices must be used to monitor impacts and to investigate and prevent groundwater and soil contamination. This book discusses processing systems, environmental impacts and adverse health effects of landfills and other recycling centers.

The question of "what to do with radioactive waste" has been raised frequently for both fission and fusion power plants. In recent years, fusion designers have become increasingly aware of the large amount of mildly radioactive materials that fusion generates. The search for a suitable solution has stimulated discussions about the origin and nature of fusion radioactive waste. This book discusses the perspectives of managing fusion radioactive materials. It also discusses the canister quandary, and the nuclear security system in Georgia.

Wastewater treatment represents a continuous challenge for engineers, environmental scientists and regulators. Today, an increasing number of new contaminants are being found such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and nanomaterials. In this book, the authors present current research in the study of the biological methods, technology and environmental impact of wastewater treatment processes. Topics include anaerobic membrane bioreactors for wastewater treatment; ecotoxicological approaches to assess wastewater's environmental impact to saltwater; EBPR for wastewater treatment; innovative sequencing batch reactors for industrial wastewater treatment; PAHs in the water environment; and cationic tannins as a coagulatnt/flocculant agent.

Almost 30 years ago, Congress addressed increasing concerns regarding the management of the nation's growing stockpile of nuclear waste by calling for the federal collection of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level nuclear waste (HLW) for safe, permanent disposal. Passed in 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was an effort to establish an explicit statutory basis for the Department of Energy (DOE) to dispose of the nation's most highly radioactive nuclear waste. The NWPA requires DOE to remove spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, in exchange for a fee, and transport it to a permanent geologic repository or an interim storage facility before permanent disposal. This book explores the effects of a termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program with a focus on the need for a comprehensive DOE strategy that supports environmental cleanup decisions.

This book examines the occurrence of uranium in its natural setting in the United States, as well as its industrial uses and the methods employed over the last century to extract it from ore deposits. In addition, this book explores the nature of solid and liquid wastes generated by extraction methods, and the various reclamation and remediation methods which can environmentally restore the extraction site. The potential radiogenic cancer risks from abandoned uranium mines are also explored, as are the environmental and geographical issues associated with those mines.

The collection, transportation and subsequent processing of waste materials is a vast field of study which incorporates technical, social, legal, economic, environmental and regulatory issues. Common waste management practices include landfilling, biological treatment, incineration, and recycling - all boasting advantages and disadvantages. Waste management has changed significantly over the past ten years, with an increased focus on integrated waste management and life-cycle assessment (LCA), with the aim of reducing the reliance on landfill with its obvious environmental concerns in favour of greener solutions. With contributions from more than seventy internationally known experts presented in two volumes and backed by the International Waste Working Group and the International Solid Waste Association, detailed chapters cover: * Waste Generation and Characterization * Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Management Systems * Waste Minimization * Material Recycling * Waste Collection * Mechanical Treatment and Separation * Thermal Treatment * Biological Treatment * Landfilling * Special and Hazardous Waste Solid Waste Technology & Management is a balanced and detailed account of all aspects of municipal solid waste management, treatment and disposal, covering both engineering and management aspects with an overarching emphasis on the life-cycle approach.

Starting with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill incident, Oil Spill Impacts: Taxonomic and Ontological Approaches chronicles a timeline of events that focus on the impact of oil spills and provides an understanding of these incidents using a number of approaches. The book includes an interdisciplinary oil spill taxonomy, an oil spill topic map, and highlights information-organization tools, such as indexes, taxonomies, and topic maps that can be used to connect information resources with concepts of interest. The topic map combines the function of ontology with the function of organized information resources, and contains thousands of concepts and their relationships extracted from approximately 300 documents stemming from various academic conference presentations, journal articles, news reports, and web pages. Divided into four parts, the book begins with a brief introduction of the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill events followed by a breakdown of the taxonomy concepts distributed into categories and their subcategories. The book then describes the oil spill topic map separated by concepts, relationships, and references. This interdisciplinary reference provides to its readers: The perspective of multiple disciplines instead of just one discipline An indication of the most important topics in the oil spill domain Developed research in the oil spill and oil drilling areas A broad and detailed view of oil spill issues The book serves students, teachers, and researchers interested in oil spill issues, oil spill incidents, and addresses their impacts that involve coastal and marine environmental sciences, biological sciences, chemistry, disaster management, geology, sociology, and government policy.

Household hazardous waste (HHW) is a topic that affects every individual and community given the nearly universal use, storage, and disposal of chemical consumer products. Yet many communities lack the basic information, guidance, and planning support for HHW collection and management so that struggles (e.g., to gain politicians' and residents' support, host a collection, build a facility, affect behavior change, and encourage extended producer responsibility) continue on a regular basis. This book is for professionals, students, government officials and others interested in HHW and accommodating the increasing societal demand for this disposal option. In the evolving field of HHW collection and management, this book: *provides an unparalleled, comprehensive look at household hazardous waste *is a must-have for anyone interested in the solid waste management field, whether novice or experienced, because of the valuable overview and specifics it provides for addressing the ubiquitous issue of HHW *offers perspectives based on many collective years of experts' accrued insight *the chapters are written by leading practitioners and visionaries *is packed with useful information on many aspects of HHW including its definition, mechanisms for collection and creative collection options, tools for behavior change, and product stewardship *offers an extensive resource list for more information. Much has changed in 10 years since the first edition appeared, and each chapter in the Handbook on Household Hazardous Waste, Second Edition, is updated to reflect changes and advances in the field of HHW collection and management. This includes updated appendices and the extensive resource list.

"Industrial Waste Treatment Handbook" provides the most reliable methodology for identifying which waste types are produced from particular industrial processes and how they can be treated. There is a thorough explanation of the fundamental mechanisms by which pollutants become dissolved or become suspended in water or air. Building on this knowledge, the reader will learn how different treatment processes work, how they can be optimized, and the most efficient method for selecting candidate treatment processes.
Utilizing the most up-to-date examples from recent work at one of the leading environmental and science consulting firms, this book also illustrates approaches to solve various environmental quality problems and the step-by-step design of facilities.
* Practical applications to assist with the selection of appropriate treatment technology for target pollutants.
* Includes case studies based on current work by experts in waste treatment, disposal, management, environmental law and data management.
* Provides glossary and table of acronyms for easy reference.

Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow describes a forward-looking innovative solution to tackling various environmental issues related to water including dwindling ground water supplies and land subsidence. The lack of far thinking and innovative methods regarding these issues is a worldwide problem. This title provides a detailed step-by-step account using scientific research, and engineering analysis to help any municipality deal with these issues. Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow is accessible and is designed to reach a wide range of diverse professionals and students.

Playing with Fire chronicles the ongoing struggle facing Louisiana families trying to live and work against the backdrop of corrupt politicians and corporate greed. However, the story presented here is relevant wherever low-income, disenfranchised people are not included in decisions about their health and environment. This book examines the tale of Marine Shale Processors, the world's largest hazardous waste company, and the women who fought to protect their community and their children. The lesson here is that a dedicated group of people fighting for what is right can win and it serves as an example for any community that wants to determine what their own environmental future. Playing with Fire is a well-documented account that provides lessons for communities, government agencies, and corporations. It dispels the narrative that low-income communities must settle for jobs at the expense of clean air and water and politicians and demonstrates that corporations that further trample on the rights of people will ultimately pay the price.

The volume of waste produced by human activity continues to grow, but steps are being taken to mitigate this problem by viewing waste as a resource. Recovering a proportion of waste for re-use immediately reduces the volume of landfill. Furthermore, the scarcity of some elements (such as phosphorous and the rare-earth metals) increases the need for their recovery from waste streams. This volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology examines the potential resource available from several waste streams, both domestic and industrial. Opportunities for exploiting waste are discussed, along with their environmental and economic considerations. Landfill remains an unavoidable solution in some circumstances, and the current situation regarding this is also presented. Other chapters focus on mine waste, the recovery of fertilisers, and the growing potential for compost. In keeping with the Issues series, this volume is written with a broad audience in mind. University students and active researches in the field will appreciate the latest research and discussion, while policy makers and members of NGOs will benefit from the wealth of information presented.

In the past few years, there has been a considerable increase in the number of new and emerging pollutants in the limited water resources around the world, posing a serious threat to human health and the ecosystems. These pollutants, which are also referred to as new chemicals without regulatory status, are poorly understood and therefore not properly monitored or effectively removed from wastewater using conventional methods. Relevant topics addressing these challenges are presented in this book containing 12 chapters, which are consequently divided into two sections (Section 1: Pollutants in Wastewater; Section 2: Wastewater Remediation Strategies). The first section provides a systematic review of recent detection methods suitable for the rapid and accurate identification of some emerging pollutants from wastewater. Further development in the book fairly complement the first part by providing solutions for the removal of the emerging pollutants from wastewater and restoration of usable water; innovative approaches encompassing inter-disciplinary processes supported by sustainable technologies are therefore the focus of the second part of the book. The enhancement of bioreactor systems with consideration of volumetric organic loads, membrane configurations and reactor types has been highlighted by authors as strategies to ensure increased biomass proliferation, high effluent production rates and high quality effluents. The development of smart materials for pollutants removal from wastewater being a promising trend for remediation of water pollution, could not be ignored in this book, which aims to emphasize on the latest sustainable and effective technologies. This has been taken care in a few chapters which explore the synthesis of nanocomposite for various applications; in one, the synthesis of nanocomposite hydrogels (NCHs) has been contemplated to produce adsorbents with improved thermomechanical, electrical, optical, swelling properties and adsorption capacity contrasted with the traditional polymeric hydrogel; while a separate chapter covers a brilliant approach consisting to combine nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes and organic polymers to develop effective antimicrobial compounds with the potential to exhibit microbicidal activities against bacteria and fungi. The ability to predict and assess the performance of the treatment process is very important to ensure that the system remains effective. This is the topic of two chapters that cover the use of models to predict the feasibility of reactions and the structural suitability of adsorbents. The book therefore covers a complete set of information for an inter-disciplinary approach to wastewater monitoring and treatment.