PNNL

Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of environmental contaminants in soils and groundwater relies on natural physical, chemical, and biological processes to reduce the risks associated with the contamination. These in situ, passive processes are monitored to track performance for meeting cleanup criteria over an expected timeline. Sometimes the natural processes are estimated (or observed) to not meet remedial objectives in a suitable time, so it may be appropriate to apply enhanced attenuation (EA) approaches to give the natural processes a little boost, for example, by improving degradation rates or facilitating mobility reduction. While the helping hand of EA typically requires a bit more activity than MNA, the approaches are intended to be a lighter, more sustainable approach than fully active remediation approaches, such as pump-and-treat.

“Enhanced Natural Attenuation: Pathways to Sustainable Remediation,” cohosted by the Center for Remediation of Complex Sites (RemPlex) and the Sustainable Remediation Forum (SURF), will explore specific EA technologies and approaches, their associated resource demands and impacts, and methodologies for evaluating and comparing the environmental footprint of different remediation approaches.

Attendees will gain insights into the following topics:

• an overview of approaches for monitoring and enhancing the natural attenuation of different contaminants of concern
• integrating green adsorbents and the need for multitechnology systems, real-time monitoring, and stakeholder engagement to ensure cost-effective, socially accepted solutions for contaminated sites
• the application of phytoremediation and a comparison with other remediation technologies.

Presenters

• Maria de Lurdes Dinis, professor, University of Porto
• Brian Looney, research environmental engineer, Savannah River National Laboratory
• Chris Gale, president, Applied Natural Sciences

Facilitators

• Evan Starr, U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center and at-large member, SURF Board of Trustees
• Katie Muller, RemPlex advisor, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Find more details on the RemPlex Seminars web page.