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Environmental Investigation and Remediation of a Hazardous Waste Site

Part 3 – Preparation of Project Plans and Procedures

Samir G. Khoury, Ph.D., P.G.


Course Outline

This course, Part 3: Preparation of Project Plans and Procedures, briefly reviews the key points of the previous courses in the sequence, and presents the steps required in planning the new round of sampling and testing program for the site. The elements of the Health and Safety Plan (HASP) are presented, including the methodology to determine the hazard category of the site and the personal protective equipment requirement. The Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is also discussed as it relates to following federal and state sampling protocols and ensuring data quality and documentation, including the concepts of chain-of-custody and use of duplicate samples and blanks to verify the quality of laboratory procedures and results. A set of Project Procedures is developed based on the technical needs of the site investigation and the requirements of the Health and Safety and Quality Assurance Plans.

The materials presented in this course can be used as a “blueprint” for addressing the elements of the Health and Safety and Quality Assurance Plans, and developing environmental sampling procedures applicable to hazardous waste investigations. The following plans and procedures are presented as part of this course:

A glossary of terms and acronyms used in this series of courses follows the Conclusion section. Following the glossary, an Appendix is included that contains examples of the following forms that are needed to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requirements:

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the end of this course the students should be able to understand how to:

The students will also be able to grasp the key concept of Quality Assurance with respect to environmental sampling and understand the concerns surrounding Health & Safety during the performance of field investigations at hazardous waste disposal sites.

Using the material presented in this course as a resource, the students should also be able to develop appropriate plans and procedures to guide their own work, including:

Finally, the importance of using the proper chain-of-custody forms and the use of duplicate samples and blanks to validate the results of the laboratory analyses will become evident for maintaining a high level of credibility in the analytical results.

Intended Audience

This series of courses is intended for environmental engineers, environmental scientists, geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, engineering geologists, environmental geologists, hydrologists and other individuals who are interested to learn how environmental investigations are conducted.

Benefit to Attendees

Students who take this series of courses will learn how environmental problems are investigated; feasibility studies conducted and engineered remediation implemented. These steps are taken to prevent the spread and migration of contaminants to the accessible environment, thus protecting the health and safety of the population and stopping the otherwise inevitable and continual degradation of the environment.

Course Introduction

Starting in the 1960s, a research institute operated a small (0.65 acre) hazardous chemical and radioactive waste disposal facility on its campus for about 20 years. All waste buried at the site resulted from the use of radioactive isotopes and hazardous chemicals that were used in research experiments. Waste brought to the disposal site for burial was in both solid and liquid form, and the liquids were in various types and sizes of containers. The waste was placed in narrow 8 to 12 feet deep trenches dug into the soil at the burial site. Once the stacked waste reached about 4 feet from the surface, dirt from a newly dug trench was used to fill the older trench up to grade.

When the site was decommissioned and no longer used for waste disposal, it was fenced, posted and locked. Minimal ground maintenance was done until the State Radiation Protection Agency (State RPA) notified the Institute that they were to keep the fence clear of vegetation and the area within the fence mowed and free of trees. The following photo shows the waste disposal area after the site was decommissioned and the ground maintenance started.

Figure 1

Figure 1: Decommissioned waste disposal site at the Institute

Following decommissioning, yearly testing of soil, surface water and vegetation of the site by the State RPA showed no evidence of significant radioactive contamination outside the burial area. In the late 1980s, the State RPA recommended that the Institute install a series of monitoring wells to allow sampling and testing of the groundwater. In response, and under the guidance of the State Groundwater Protection Agency (State GPA), the Institute installed five monitoring wells around the waste disposal site. The location of the five wells is shown on the following figure.

Figure 2

Figure 2: Location of Initial Monitoring Wells Installed around the waste Disposal Site

About a month after installation, the State RPA collected groundwater samples from the five monitoring wells for radiological analysis. A year later, an additional groundwater sample was collected from Well No.3 for radiological and organic chemical analyses. The radiological analyses indicated that some of the groundwater samples in the immediate surroundings of the restricted area had elevated Tritium activities. It also appeared that organic chemical contamination may be present in the groundwater in the vicinity of the waste disposal area. Discovery of both chemical and radiological contamination outside the fenced burial area prompted the State RPA to require the Institute to design and implement a comprehensive investigation program to gain a better understanding of the prevailing conditions at the site. The Institute issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to environmental and engineering firms to retain the services of a technical services consultant (Consultant). The winning bidder, Consultant, reviewed existing information on file at the Institute and developed an estimate of the inventory of the waste that was disposed of at the site and re-evaluated all existing soil, vegetation, groundwater and surface water test results that were conducted thus far. The Consultant issued a Preliminary Site Condition Report summarizing the results of these initial findings.  These aspects of the project are covered in Parts 1 and 2 of this series of courses.

The State RPA and other State Environmental Protection Agencies then requested the installation of additional groundwater monitoring wells and the collection and analysis of additional soil, groundwater and surface water samples in order to determine the size, extent, and characteristics of the contaminant plume that extends beyond the fenced area of the waste disposal site. In addition, they also wanted the Consultant to define the nature and characteristics of the local geology and hydrology of the area.

Course Content

The course content is in the following PDF file:

Environmental Investigation and Remediation of a Hazardous Waste Site: Part 3 – Preparation of Project Plans and Procedures

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Course Summary

Prior to starting any field work at the waste disposal site, where personnel could be exposed to hazardous chemicals or radio nuclides, a required Health and Safety Plan needs to be developed. The elements of the Health and Safety Plan are dictated by OSHA regulations, and include hazard identification and the selection of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to be used. In order to ensure the quality of the data collected, a project-specific Quality Assurance Plan is also developed. These two plans, in conjunction with the specific technical Sampling and Analysis Plan are used to develop a suite of project procedures that will be followed by project personnel. By ensuring that all field staff are familiar with and will follow the project procedures, the Health and Safety and Quality Assurance requirements will automatically be met. This course used the planned hazardous waste investigation at the waste disposal site of the Institute as an illustration of the types of issues to be addressed by the Health and Safety and Quality Assurance Plans. These plans, plus the included project procedures, can be used as a “blueprint” by the students for developing similar documents for their own projects.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

Take a Quiz

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.