Remediation of Contaminated Sediments: Technical Options and Environmental Consequences

Patterson, James W.

Title:

Remediation of Contaminated Sediments: Technical Options and Environmental Consequences

dc.contributor.author	Patterson, James W.	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	Patterson Environmental Consultants, Inc.	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	Georgia Institute of Technology. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	American Academy of Environmental Engineers	en_US
dc.contributor.corporatename	Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2011-11-30T15:43:59Z
dc.date.available	2011-11-30T15:43:59Z
dc.date.issued	2011-10-05
dc.description	The American Academy of Environmental Engineers' annual Kappe Lecture Series brings a recognized environmental engineering practitioner to university campuses across the United States. This professional is selected from the cadre of the Academy's Board Certified Environmental Engineers and Board Certified Environmental Engineering Members. During two-day campus visits, the practitioner presents formal lectures and engages in informal discussions with undergraduate and graduate students to supplement their training with real-world, up-to-date information about the practice of environmental engineering. James Patterson is an internationally recognized expert on industrial pollution control. He is Principal of the environmental engineering consulting firm, Patterson Environmental Consultants, Inc. The firm specializes in industrial wastes management, including wastewaters, and solid and hazardous wastes. Dr. Patterson previously served as Professor and Chairman of the Pritzker Department of Environmental Engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago for 20 years, and as Director of the EPA-sponsored Industrial Waste Elimination Research Center of Excellence at IIT for 8 years. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering in 1970 from the University of Florida, and his B.S. and M.S. degrees in 1964 and 1967 respectively, from Auburn University. Dr. Patterson is the author of two books on industrial wastewater treatment, the editor of a threevolume series on industrial pollution prevention, co-editor of a nine-volume series on water quality management, and has authored more than 100 other book chapters and technical papers. He was Chair of the WEF Journal Water Environment Research Board of Editors. He has served as an international consultant and advisor to numerous industries and government agencies, including the U. S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, the USEPA, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice, the Illinois Pollution Control Board and Illinois EPA, the Kentucky Department of Natural Resources, the New York State Hazardous Waste Center, and the Ohio EPA. During 1983-84, Dr. Patterson served as Executive Director of the State of Illinois Hazardous Wastes Task Force. He has served as Chair of the International Joint Commission Expert Committee on Engineering and Technological Aspects of Great Lakes Water Quality, and as Chair of the State of Illinois Effluent Standards Advisory Panel. Dr. Patterson was appointed a Charter Member of the USEPA National Advisory Council for Environmental Technology and Policy. In addition, he chaired the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Engineering Education, sponsored by AEESP and convened in Toronto, Canada.	en_US
dc.description	Runtime: 54:11 minutes	en_US
dc.description.abstract	According to the USEPA, contaminated sediments continue to be a significant environmental problem that, due to release of contaminants from the sediments back into the ecosystem, impairs the beneficial uses of many waterbodies and is often a contributing factor to the thousands of fish consumption advisories that have been issued nationwide. Cleanup of contaminated sediment “megasites” cost in excess of $50 million. There are often similarities among contaminated sediment sites. For example, at half of 60 Tier 1 sites tracked by the EPA, polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) were the primary contaminant of concern, while metals drove the risk at a third of the sites and PAHs at a fifth of the sites. There are a limited number of remedial approaches for such sites, including monitored natural recovery (“MNR”), sediment capping, fixation of pollutants within the sediments, or physical removal of the sediments by excavation or dredging. Each remedial approach has advantages and, often serious, disadvantages and environmental consequences. This Seminar addresses the pros and cons of alternative contaminated sediments remedial approaches, and considers the utility of multiple approaches within individual sites. The presentation focuses on the Lower Fox River, Wisconsin, which flows from Lake Winnebago northeast to Green Bay, and drains into Lake Michigan. The Lower Fox River (“LFR”) megasite includes approximately 39 miles of the LFR as well as the Bay of Green Bay, one of the major bays of Lake Michigan, and is one of the nations’ largest sediment remediation sites. River bottom sediments throughout the 39-mile length of the River and extending into Green Bay are contaminated by historical discharges of wastewaters containing PCBs from paper mills and Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) located along the River. The PCB wastewater discharges resulted from the manufacturing, de-inking, and recycling of carbonless copy paper. It has been estimated that between 279,000 to 881,000 pounds of PCBs were released to the River, almost entirely prior to 1972. The PCB contamination persists today. The contamination has led to excessive body burdens of PCBs in fish, to the point that only a catch and release fishery is advised on the River. The sediments of the LFR and to a lesser extent, the Bay, have been the focus of investigation and remediation efforts for decades. This presentation overviews the remedial options evaluated for the contaminated sediments of the River, and the consequent environmental advantages and risks associated with each remedial approach.	en_US
dc.format.extent	54:11 minutes
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/42023
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology	en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Association of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AEES) Distinguished Lecturer Series	en_US
dc.subject	Contaminated sediments	en_US
dc.subject	Remediation	en_US
dc.subject	PCB contamination	en_US
dc.subject	Lower Fox River	en_US
dc.title	Remediation of Contaminated Sediments: Technical Options and Environmental Consequences	en_US
dc.title.alternative	2011 Kappe Lecture	en_US
dc.type	Moving Image
dc.type.genre	Lecture
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.corporatename	School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Engineering
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	88639fad-d3ae-4867-9e7a-7c9e6d2ecc7c
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569