2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference Applied Science and Technology for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Grand Junction, Colorado November 2010

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 2 Today’s Format Two-hour session to accommodate facilitated discussion Presentation on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management (LM) Applied Science & Technology (AS&T) program Introduce Panel – brief summaries Break? Proposed discussion topics Full audience participation Goal: discuss opinions on future direction of groundwater research for long-term surveillance and maintenance (LTS&M) Goal: discuss opinions on future direction of groundwater research for long-term surveillance and maintenance (LTS&M) Product: chart of favorable areas for applied research for groundwater remediation Product: chart of favorable areas for applied research for groundwater remediation

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 3 AS&T Subtask LM provides funding through AS&T to: Evaluate technologies to improve LTS&M remediation strategies. Solve mechanical and chemical problems in LM activities at sites. Use technologies to make remedies more sustainable.

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 4 Two Main Areas of Emphasis Groundwater projects Surface projects (disposal cell covers, phytoremediation)

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 5 Map of LM Sites

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 6 Main Contaminants Uranium Nitrate Sulfate Ammonium Vanadium Molybdenum Selenium Arsenic Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Fission products (e.g., tritium)

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 7 AS&T Projects Analysis Charts Only includes projects within AS&T; includes some projects from LM predecessor [Office of Environmental Management (EM)] Includes many other projects in LM that have technology innovations; e.g., Rocky Flats, Pinellas, Central Nevada Test Area There are lumpers and splitters; organized by project reports

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 8 AS&T Projects by Breadth of Application

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 9 AS&T Projects by Cost

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 10 AS&T Projects by Technology Type

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 11 AS&T Projects by Remediation Approach

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 12 LM Site Contaminants AS&T Projects by Contaminant

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference Trench (filled) Aquifer Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB): Evolution of an Applied Research Project

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 14 Approach 1998: Laboratory treatability studies 1998: Field columns Geochemical modeling 1999: PRB installation 1999–2010: Performance evaluation Routine groundwater sampling Two episodes of coring/analysis Tracer testing Residence time determination using 222 Rn Four episodes of hydraulic conductivity testing 2005: Treatment cells installed

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 15 Geochemical Modeling: Mineral Zonation in Approach to ZVI Saturation

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 16 PRB Installation

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 17 Coring for Performance Evaluation 9 tons of calcite deposited in the first 3 years

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 18 Hydraulic Conductivity in Monticello PRB After 4 Years Red = low conductivity Groundwater Flow

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 19 Performance Evaluation: Hydraulic Conductivity

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 20 PRB Performance: Mineralization of ZVI Electron microprobe photomicrograph of core material

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 21 Residence Time Dependency

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 22 Implementation of Treatment Cells

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 23 Chelate Enhancement of Zero-Valent Iron Treatment

LM Sites SOARS Sites LM Sites and System Operations and Analysis at Remote Sites (SOARS) Mound Lakeview Rocky Flats Shiprock Monument Valley Monticello Green River Old Rifle Central Nevada Test Area Weldon Spring Salmon New Rifle Durango

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 25 SOARS System Innovations Post processor allows instant access by all LM personnel; reliable means to record notes on activities Use of three-point calculations that automatically plot the orientation and velocity of groundwater Remote collection of tracer data (rhodamine) Remote operation of well pumps (automated pump tests)

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 26 Summary: LM’s AS&T Program (Groundwater) 1.Operate geochemical/ecological laboratory 2.Operate SOARS telemetry system 3.Conduct applied scientific research 4.Directions to date have emphasized: Low cost Site-specific projects Radionuclide/sulfate/nitrate/oxyanion contaminants Site characterization/remediation What directions should applied science for legacy management be going?

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 27 Start of Facilitated Session

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 28 Suggested Discussion Topics Big or small science Promising technologies for groundwater remediation. What should LM’s role be? What are other agencies (e.g., DOE-EM, DOE Office of Science, U.S. Department of Defense, Armys Corps, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) doing? Overlap? Basic research vs. applied research vs. project support Groundwater remediation vs. point-of-use treatment

2010 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Conference 29 Suggested Discussion Topics (continued) Groundwater contamination Is it better to stabilize groundwater contamination (e.g., acetate injection) or enhance removal (e.g., in-situ leaching with oxidant and carbonate for uranium)? Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) How much emphasis? Is this going to be the future? How to approach MNA? Major issues and future of research? Technical impracticability What is it and what role does it play?