Boston University Superfund Research Program

VMS is a novel vadose zone monitoring technology that is designed to provide in-situ, real time information on hydrological and chemical conditions of the percolating water in deep sections of the vadose zone. The data collected by the monitoring system provides early detection of subsurface pollution and allows optimization of remediation conditions. Up-to-date the system has been successfully implemented in several research projects on water flow and contaminant transport in various hydrological and geological setups including: (a) floodwater infiltration from stream channels and reservoirs, (b) land use impact on groundwater quality, (c) influence of intensive agriculture on groundwater quality, and (d) controlled remediation conditions of a contaminated vadose zone.

EPA has developed this web site to summarize information about selected full-, field- and pilot scale applications of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is an emerging technology that is generally defined as the ability to create and use materials, devices and systems with unique properties with a size of approximately 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). Applications of nanotechnology in environmental protection draw on nanomaterials’ unique properties and include (1) sensors for improved monitoring and detection capabilities, and (2) treatment and remediation techniques for cost-effective and rapid site cleanup. Projects for this Web Site are collected using information from technical journals and conference proceedings, as well as information obtained from technology vendors and site managers. The project profiles contain information on the types of contaminants treated, the type of nanomaterial used, the nanomaterial vendor, the length of operations, project scale and status, location, cost, monitoring and performance results, and points of contact and references. This Web Site can be used as a networking tool (each profile lists a contact) to identify past solutions and lessons learned that would apply to new sites with similar contaminants and climate.

Background: Epidemiologic and health impact studies of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) are limited by the lack of monitoring data, especially in developing countries. Satellite-observations offer valuable global information about PM_2.5 concentrations.

Methods: Global ground-level PM_2.5 concentrations were mapped using total column aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the MODIS and MISR satellite instruments and coincident aerosol vertical profiles from the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model.

Results: Global estimates of long-term average (2001-2006) PM_2.5 concentrations at ~10 km × 10 km resolution indicate a global population-weighted geometric mean PM_2.5 concentration of 20 μg/m³. The World Health Organization Air Quality PM_2.5 Interim Target-1 (35 µg/m³ annual average) is exceeded over central and eastern Asia for 38% and 50% of the population, respectively. Annual mean PM_2.5 concentrations exceed 80 µg/m³ over Eastern China.

Evaluation of the satellite-derived estimate with ground-based in-situ measurements indicates significant spatial agreement with North American measurements (r = 0.77, slope = 1.07, n = 1057) and with non-coincident measurements elsewhere (r = 0.83, slope = 0.86, n = 244). The one standard deviation uncertainty in the satellite-derived PM_2.5 is 25%, inferred from the AOD retrieval and aerosol vertical profiles errors and sampling. The global population-weighted mean uncertainty is 6.7 µg/m³.

Conclusions: Satellite-derived total-column AOD, when combined with an aerosol transport model, provides estimates of global long-term average PM_2.5 concentrations.

This webcast is an opportunity for potential applicants to the 2010 CARE cooperative agreement grant program to learn more about the program and ask questions about the Request for Proposals issued in December 2009.

The January 1-31, 2010 Technology Innovation News Survey has been posted to the CLU-IN web site. The Survey contains market/commercialization information; reports on demonstrations, feasibility studies and research; and other news relevant to the hazardous waste community interested in technology development.

The testimony, delivered to the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, was to educate committee members about the research NIEHS is doing to learn about endocrine-disrupting chemicals in drinking water and the risks they pose to human health and the environment.

The film seeks to encourage owners of private wells to check the levels of arsenic in their drinking water.

The CLU-IN Upcoming Courses and Conferences section was updated on March 11, 2010. There are 2 new entries, for a total of 118 upcoming courses and conferences related to hazardous waste remediation:

• Brownfield Inventory Tool (BIT) - A Free, Web-based Site Inventory Tool, Mar 23 , 2010, INTERNET
• Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists 53rd Annual Meeting, Sep 20 - 25, 2010, Charleston, SC

Treatment of dissolved-phase chlorinated ethenes in groundwater using in situ bioremediation (ISB) is an established technology; however, its use for DNAPL source zones is an emerging application. This training course supports the ITRC Technical and Regulatory Guidance document In Situ Bioremediation of Chlorinated Ethene: DNAPL Source Zones (BioDNAPL-3, 2008). This document provides the regulatory community, stakeholders, and practitioners with the general steps practitioners and regulators can use to objectively assess, monitor, and optimize ISB treatment of DNAPL source zones. The objective is to provide adequate technology background for the user to understand the general and key aspects of ISB for treatment of chlorinated ethene DNAPL source zones. It is not intended to be a step-by-step instruction manual for remedial design, but describes technology-specific considerations for application of ISB of DNAPL source zones.

For this training and guidance document, a DNAPL source zone includes the zone that encompasses the entire subsurface volume in which DNAPL is present either at residual saturation or as "pools" that accumulate above confining units. The DNAPL source zone includes regions that have come into contact with DNAPL and may be storing contaminant mass as a result of diffusion of DNAPL into the soil matrix. Even though DNAPLs may be present in both the unsaturated and saturated zones, the discussion of ISB of DNAPL source zones in this training and guidance document focuses on treatment of DNAPL source zones within the saturated zone.

Two goals of any DNAPL source treatment technology are to 1) reduce the mass of contaminants within the source area and 2) prevent migration of contaminants above unacceptable levels. The enhanced ISB technology reduces source mass and controls flux through the enhanced dissolution and desorption of DNAPL constituents into the aqueous phase, and subsequent microbially mediated degradation processes. Although enhanced ISB of DNAPL source zones has been demonstrated in the field at a few chlorinated solvent sites, expectations for rapid depletion of the source zone must be realistic. This training and guidance provide detailed requirements necessary to support the realistic determination of goals for ISB of a DNAPL source zone.

To get the most out of this training, before the class, please review the associated document, the ITRC Technical and Regulatory Guidance document In Situ Bioremediation of Chlorinated Ethene: DNAPL Source Zones (BioDNAPL-3, 2008).

On The Cover

An Indian girl uses a blowpipe to breathe more life into a cooking fire. According to the World Health Organization, about 2 billion people worldwide cook over fire.

Background: Black carbon is a marker of traffic pollution which has been associated with blood pressure (BP), although findings have been inconsistent. MicroRNAs are emerging as key regulators of gene expression, but whether polymorphisms in genes involved in processing of microRNAs to maturity influence susceptibility to black carbon has not been elucidated.

Objectives: We investigated the association between black carbon and BP, as well as potential effect modification by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in microRNA processing genes.

Methods: Repeated measures analyses were performed using data from Normative Aging Study. Complete covariate data were available for 789 participants with 1-6 study visits between 1995 and 2008. In models of systolic and diastolic BP we examined SNP-by-black carbon interactions with 19 microRNA-related variants under recessive models of inheritance. Mixed-effects models were adjusted for potential confounders including clinical characteristics, lifestyle and meteorological factors.

Results: A 1 standard deviation increase in black carbon (0.415 µg/m³) was associated with 3.04 mmHg higher systolic (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.29, 3.79) and 2.28 mmHg higher diastolic BP (95% CI: 1.88, 2.67). Interactions modifying black carbon associations were observed with SNPs in the DICER, GEMIN4, and DGCR8 genes, and in GEMIN3 and GEMIN4 predicting diastolic and systolic BP respectively.

Conclusions: We observed evidence of effect modification of the association between BP and 7-day black carbon moving averages by SNPs associated with miRNA processing. While the mechanisms underlying these associations are not well understood, they suggest a role for miRNA genesis and processing in influencing black carbon effects.

Background: The National Children’s Study (NCS) is the most ambitious study ever attempted in the US to assess how environmental factors impact child health and development. It aims to follow 100,000 children from gestation until age 21. Success requires breaking new interdisciplinary ground, starting with how to select the sample of over 1000 children in each of 105 study sites; no standardized protocol exists for stratification of the target population by factoring in the diverse environments it inhabits. Worcester County, like other sites, stratifies according to local conditions and local knowledge, subject to probability sampling rules.

Objectives: We answer: How do we divide Worcester County into viable strata that represent its health-relevant environmental and socio-demographic heterogeneity, subject to sampling rules? What potential does our approach have to inform stratification at other sites?

Results: We developed a multivariable vulnerability based method for spatial sampling, consisting of two descriptive indices: a hazards/stressors exposure index (comprising three proxy variables); and an adaptive capacity/socio-demographic character index (five variables). Multivariable, health-relevant stratification up-front may improve detection power for environment-child health associations down the line. Eighteen strata capture countywide heterogeneity in the indices, and have optimal relative homogeneity within each. They achieve comparable expected birth counts and conform to local concepts of space.

Conclusion: The approach offers moderate-high potential to inform other sites, limited by inter-site differences in data availability, geo-demographics and technical capacity. Energetic community engagement from the start promotes local stratification coherence, plus vital researcher-community trust and co-ownership for sustainability.