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2024 Seminar Series
Sustainable Remediation and Decommissioning in Practice
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Pacific | 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. GMT
“Sustainable Remediation and Decommissioning in Practice” will explore how to incorporate sustainable outcomes into the planning phases of remediation and decommissioning projects, how these outcomes are measured and vary across the breadth of activities, and specific approaches and initiatives that can provide confidence in reaching sustainable goals.
Much emphasis is placed on the need for remediation and decommissioning projects to be sustainable, with a general understanding that this means the outcomes of such projects balance environmental, economic, and social considerations. Conceptually, the linkages between these considerations are well-defined and broadly endorsed. In practice, however, achieving sustainable solutions can be a significant challenge—particularly when measured across the many discrete activities that may be undertaken across typically protracted project life cycles. In addition, identifying and implementing sustainable solutions often requires extensive engagement across all stakeholder groups and resolution of sometimes-competing objectives and priorities.
This November 5 seminar is hosted by RemPlex in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Network of Environmental Remediation and NORM Management (ENVIRONET). Registration on Zoom is free and open to the public. The discussion is co-facilitated by Rebecka Bence Iveson with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Horst Monken-Fernandes, IAEA Scientific Secretary of ENVIRONET. The international panelists are:
Paul Bardos, r3 environmental technology LTD: Sustainable and Risk-Based Land Management
Sarah Bullock, AtkinsRéalis: Is sustainable management of soils and materials; an opportunity or a "waste" of time?
Kristina Gillin, Vysus Group: Nuclear Decommissioning in the Context of Sustainability and Circular Economy
Elaine Porcaro, US Department of Energy, Hanford Field Office: Sustainable Remediation and Net Zero at the DOE Hanford Site
Workforce Development in the Environmental Remediation Field
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
- Panel of six international speakers
- Find the video, more details, and resources on the seminar web page
Access to a trained workforce is one of the biggest challenges facing implementation of technically sound, cost-effective, timely, and sustainable remediation projects. Even in sectors and countries with robust remediation-support infrastructure, workforce development can be a significant constraint that threatens to worsen as the current workforce ages towards retirement. This seminar engaged panelists with direct experience as STEM education program managers, university-level educators, and agency and industry leaders who are facing shortages of trained staff. Centered on a discussion of workforce development challenges and opportunities, topics explored included: building effective multidisciplinary teams that integrate physical sciences, engineering, health risk management, information technology, cost estimation and budgeting, project management, stakeholder engagement, and more; growing a pipeline of professional development that spans the recruitment of students through providing continuing education for the existing workforce; making sure the expertise and experience of senior practitioners is retained through knowledge management; and developing a diverse workforce and maximizing its value. The seminar was jointly hosted by RemPlex and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Network of Environmental Remediation and NORM Management (ENVIRONET).
Optimizing Remediation Outcomes Through Integration of Geologic and Geophysical Data
April 23, 2024
- Presented by Rick Cramer and Mike Shultz, Burns & McDonnell; Judy Robinson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Learn more here, including the seminar recording, presentation slides, full abstract and speaker bios
The most challenging element of any remediation project, particularly those with groundwater contamination, is the uncertainty and potential heterogeneity of subsurface conditions. Subsurface heterogeneity has confounded the progress, delayed remediation goals, and caused budget overruns for many groundwater restoration efforts. Conceptual site models (CSMs) need to provide a reasonably accurate and complete representation of the subsurface in order to successfully guide groundwater remediation activities. This seminar will discuss best practices for integrating geologic and geophysical data to enhance CSMs and optimize remediation outcomes. Read more.
End-State Driven Performance-Based Management of P&T Remedies
February 20, 2024
Performance-based optimization and/or management of pump and treat (P&T) remedies is a critical strategy for maintaining contaminant removal effectiveness throughout the remedy’s lifetime and for managing systems toward a certain end-state for site completion or a remedy transition. This seminar will present a pre-screening tool developed to conduct end-state-driven P&T performance evaluations. Inci Demirkanli and Xuehang Song from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will discuss how the tool presents a systematic and adaptive approach that couples a simplified field-scale model with optimization algorithms to assess the potential impacts of various P&T management strategies and specific site features on multiple remedy objectives.
Learn more here (including video and presentation)
2023 Presentation Highlights
Assessing Environmental Remediation Technologies: Groundwater and SoilsMay 23, 2023, and August 15, 2023 This two-part seminar series, jointly hosted by RemPlex and the IAEA, uses case studies to provide an analysis on remedy efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability, availability, complexity, long-term requirements, and more.
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Environmental Behavior and Remediation of Contaminated Sites with Cationic Radionuclides: The Cases of Cs and SrFebruary 14, 2023 A discussion of the current understanding of cesium and strontium behavior in complex contaminated sites, including data on the deposition, distribution, fate, and transport; permeable reactive barriers; and emerging remediation strategies.
2022 Presentation Highlights | |
From the Classroom to Cleanup: Internships in Environmental ScienceDecember 14, 2022 Learn about research being done to address environmental challenges and how you could be part of that through internship programs such as SULI, CCI, MSIPP, SRAP, and YWIS. | |
Chlorinated Solvent Remediation at the Petro-Processors Superfund Site in LouisianaOctober 25, 2022 Remediation is underway at the Petro-Processors, Inc., Superfund site north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Past practices at the site involved the disposal of liquid wastes that were a mixture of hydrocarbons and chlorinated organics. | |
Using Risk Assessment to Guide Environmental Remediation DecisionsJuly 26, 2022 The primary objective of environmental remediation is to reduce potential exposures to hazardous substances to acceptably safe levels. The determination of cleanup objectives frequently involves the adoption of existing standards, such as... | |
Climate Resilience in Remedial Design and ImplementationApril 26, 2022 Environmental remediation of complex sites typically involves the implementation and operation of remedial actions over long time frames. The process of selecting and integrating effective remediation and treatment technologies based on... | |
Source Area Remediation in Complex Subsurface Conditions At Joint Base Lewis-McChordJanuary 25, 2022 Learn the strategic monitoring approaches and remedy design work to address subsurface contamination from trichloroethene (TCE), which was inadvertently released from deteriorating drums in a Joint Base Lewis-McChord landfill. |
2021 Presentation Highlights
Visual Sample Plan: Spatial Sampling and Analysis CapabilitiesJuly 20, 2021 The Visual Sample Plan is a geospatial software tool that supports the development of a defensible sampling plan for environmental remediation. Based on statistical sampling theory and the statistical analysis of sample results... | |
Development of Options to Limit Groundwater Impacts from Silo LeakageMay 19, 2021 The Magnox Swarf Storage Silos is a legacy waste storage facility at the Sellafield Nuclear Site in northwest England. Sellafield Ltd is removing the wastes from the building and exporting them to a modern storage system, but... | |
Moving Beyond Subjectivity: Informed Optimization Concepts in Enhancing Groundwater Extraction and Recirculation Remedy PerformanceApril 28, 2021 A team of experts from environmental consulting firm Arcadis (Chief Hydrogeologist Scott Potter, Vice President Kelly Houston, and Project Hydrogeologist Jennifer Wahlberg) discussed contaminant plume restoration data. | |
Web-Based Data Access and Analysis Workbench to Support Environmental Restoration Decision-MakingMarch 31, 2021 PNNL Senior Development Engineer Chris Johnson and Data Scientist Patrick Royer discussed how web-based tools offer an improved approach for working with large environmental data sets. | |
Modeling and measuring the transport of foam in porous media in the presence of nanoparticlesFebruary 23, 2021 Dr. Valentina Prigiobbe with the Stevens Institute of Technology explains a numerical model developed for the analysis of the removal of a contaminant (trichloroethylene, or TCE) from low permeability porous media and provides examples of... | |
Hanford 200-PW-1 Operable Unit Soil Vapor Extraction Endpoint EvaluationJanuary 26, 2021 Chris Johnson, PNNL senior development engineer, and Mark Byrnes, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company project manager, discuss following Soil Vapor Extraction guidance and assessing performance data to present lines of evidence to... |
2020 Presentation Highlights
Calcium carbonate minerals as scavengers of metals and radionuclides for natural attenuation and remediationDecember 1, 2020 Calcium carbonate interactions affect contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface environmental systems. Earth Scientist Amanda Lawter and Lab Fellow Nik Qafoku provide insights on the use of calcium carbonate natural attenuation mechanisms and... | |
Integrating Key Capabilities for the Remediation of Complex SitesOctober 27, 2020 PNNL integrates a range of capabilities in multi-scale experimentation, modeling and simulation, and characterization and monitoring to translate science innovation into practical, cost-effective solutions for field implementation. | |
Evaluation Approaches for Transitioning from Active to Passive RemediationSeptember 23, 2020 In the context of managing complex sites and phased remedies, there is a need to defensibly support decisions to transition between remediation elements, in particular for transitioning from active to passive remediation. | |
Understanding Environmental Site Conditions: What do we need to know to select and implement effective remedies?August 11, 2020 Technical information about contaminants, exposure pathways, and factors that affect how candidate remedies perform at a specific site are used to support selecting and implementing environmental remedies. How do we determine the type and extent of... | |
Implications of Uranium Behavior in the Subsurface for Environmental RemediationJune 18, 2020 Environmental Engineer Jim Szecsody and Earth Scientist Hilary Emerson share insights gathered from uranium characterization and remediation efforts at the Hanford Site in Washington and at the Rifle Mill Site in Colorado. | |
Introducing the Center for the Remediation of Complex SitesMay 15, 2020 Director Dawn Wellman discusses how RemPlex fosters technical stewardship, builds partnerships, and advanced the R&D needed to translate science and engineering innovation into practical, adaptive, operational solutions to address complex site remediation. |
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