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A Civil Action

• WELLS G AND H WOBURN, MIDDLESEX COUNTY,
  MASSACHUSETTS
• Comprehensive Environmental Response,
  Compensation and Liability Information System
  (CERCLIS) No. MAD980732168

http//www.geology.sdsu.edu/classes/geol351/woburn
.htm
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• Five sources of TCE
• New England Plastics
• Wildwood Conservation Trust (Riley
  Tannery/Beatrice Foods)
• Olympia Nominee Trust (Hemingway Trucking)
• UniFirst
• W.R. Grace (Cryovac)

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Woburn Site
TCE in 1985
Geology buried river valley of glacial outwash
and ice contact deposits overlying fractured
bedrock
Aberjona River
W.R. Grace

Municipal Wells G H
Wells GH operated from October 1964- May 1979
The trial took place in 1986.
Beatrice Foods
Did TCE reach the wells before May 1979?
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Common organic contaminants
Source EPA circular
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UniFirst Corportation

• Formerly a dry cleaning facility - Interstate
  Uniform Service Corporation (IUSC) (1966-1983).
• From 1977-1982, a 5,000-gallon above-ground tank
  was used to store the dry-cleaning agent
  tetrachloroethylene.
• In 1988 Ebasco Services Inc. reported the
  recovery of less a liquid contained 19,000,000
  ug/l of tetrachloroethylene.

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Cryovac Division of W.R. Grace and Co.

• A food wrapping manufacturer since 1961. W.R.
  Grace and Co. utilized degreasing agents such as
  trichloroethylene at its facility. W.R. Grace and
  Co. made use of a pit behind the plant for waste
  disposal, and discharged waste into the city's
  sewer system. In accordance with an EPA
  Administrative Order, the pit was excavated and
  six 55-gallon drums of liquid waste and
  contaminated soil were removed to a Resource
  Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976
  (RCRA)-approved disposal facility in June, 1983.

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New England Plastics Corporation

• A manufacturer of solid vinyl siding and various
  other plastic products.
• Prospect Tool and Die Company is also located
  within the same building.
• In December 1986, water from an industrial well
  which tapped the bedrock aquifer was found to be
  contaminated with various volatile organic
  compounds (PCE TCE).
• In 1988, effluent from the New England Plastics
  Corporation was found to enter the Aberjona River
  via a drainage ditch.

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Olympia Nominee Trust Corp.

• 1970 - 200 to 500 five-gallon containers of
  arsenic trioxide were discovered on the property.
• The Hemingway Transport Co., which owned the
  property since 1980, had four underground storage
  tanks at the trucking terminal facility.
• In May 1983, a 6,280-gallon gasoline tank was
  found to be leaking, and was removed in July
  1983. It is unknown when the tanks were installed
  and when the gasoline tank began leaking.

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Wildwood Conservation Corporation

• John J. Riley sold the land to Beatrice Foods,
  Inc., in 1978, then repurchased the property in
  1983.
• Established the property as the Wildwood
  Conservation Corporation in 1985. Various trails
  leading from two neighboring facilities, Whitney
  Barrel Company and Murphy Waste Oil Company, to
  the property existed during the period 1966-1983.
  
• On the property, extensive contamination
  consisting of sludge, discolored soils, trash,
  55-gallon drums, paint cans and debris piles has
  been documented. John J. Riley Tannery has an
  industrial water supply well on the property.

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Introduction to Environmental Geology
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Fundamental Concepts of Environmental Geology

• Geology as a basic environmental science

• Population growth
• Sustainability
• The earth system
• Uniformitarianism
• Hazardous earth processes

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Fundamental Concepts-Population Growth

• Population Growth is the 1 environmental problem
• Why?
• www.prb.org

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Fundamental Concepts-Population Growth

• It is impossible to support exponential
  population growth with a finite resource base
• Primary goal of environmental work is to defuse
  the population bomb
• Pessimistic the earth will take care of itself
  through disease and catastrophes
• Optimistic find better ways to control
  population growth within the limits of our
  available resources

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Fundamental Concepts-Sustainability

• Sustainability is the environmental objective
• We are currently using most living environmental
  resources faster than they can be naturally
  replenished
• What would we need for a sustainable global
  economy?
• Populations of humans in natural harmony with
  air, water, and land
• Energy policies that do not pollute or cause
  climatic perturbations
• Utilization plans for renewable resources
  (Recycling)
• Utilization plans for nonrenewable resources

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How do we predict the consequences of earth
system changes?

• Understand the nature of the system
• Understand rates of change
• Conduct input-output analysis

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Fundamental Concepts-The earth system

• The earth system
• Understanding the earths systems and their
  changes is critical to solving environmental
  problems.
• The earth itself is
• an open system with respect to energy
• a closed system with respect to material

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Fundamental Concepts-The earth system

• Feedback
• A system response where System output (something
  happening) is a new system input
• Positive and negative feedback
• Input-output analysis

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Fundamental Concepts-The earth system

• 1. Positive feedback-- "vicious cycle"
• a. one action intensifies the next (example
  erosion)
• 2. Negative feedback-- "self-regulating" enables
  the system to reach a steady state or equilibrium
  (example stream morphology).
• 3. Threshold events -- No apparent changes until
  threshold levels are reached (Lake Turnover).

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Fundamental Concepts-The earth system

• Negative Feedback
• Stream
• A. Increase gradient
• B. Increases the river's velocity, which
• C. Increases the rate of erosion, which
• D. Widens and deepens channel, which
• E. Slows rivers velocity
• F. promotes deposition
• G. reduces gradient

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Fundamental Concepts-The earth system

• Example of threshold event
• Lake turnover

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Fundamental Concepts- Uniformitarianism

• James Hutton, 1785
• the present is the key to the past
• Geologic processes modifying our landscape have
  operated in the past
• Human activity is a new geological force
• Affects the magnitude and frequency of geologic
  processes
• the present is the key to the future

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Fundamental Concepts-Hazardous Earth Processes

• Some geologic hazards are inevitable
• Planning is important
• The impacts of hazardous earth processes are
  enhanced by spatial concentration of population
  and resources
• Should be considered in cost-benefit analysis

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Fundamental Concepts-Geology as a basic
environmental science

• Geology is a factor in every persons life
• Civilization exists by geological
  consentsubject to change without notice--Will
  Durant

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Fundamental Concepts-Geology as a basic
environmental science

• Branches of Environmental Geology
• Geomorphology (Geologic Landforms and Processes)
• Hydrogeology (Water and soil / rock interactions)
• Pedology (Soils)
• Economic geology
• Engineering geology
• Classical geology

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Fundamental Concepts-Geology as a basic
environmental science

• Environmental problems are interdisciplinary
• Physical
• Geography, geologic processes, hydrology, rock
  types, soil types, climate
• Biological
• Plants, animals, biologic conditions, spatial
  analysis of biologic information
• Human interest/use
• Land use, economics, aesthetics, environmental
  law, hazards, historical/archaeological value

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Environmental Geology and Land-Use Planning

• There is a limited supply of land
• We strive to plan so that suitable land is
  available for specific uses for this generation
  and those that follow
• Comprehensive plan designed for long-range
  local development based on and environmental
  inventory of resources and hazards

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Landscape Evaluation

• Environmental geologists provide geologic
  information and analysis to assist in planning,
  design, and construction
• Former and Present land use
• Physical and chemical properties of earth
  materials
• Pollutants
• Engineering Properties of soil and rock
• Natural Hazards
• Groundwater Characteristics

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Site Selection

• Cost-Benefits Analysis Assumes all relevant
  costs and benefits can be determined
• Examples Building a shopping mall in a flood
  zone Drilling oil wells in National Parks?
• Physiographic Determination-Applying ecological
  principals to planning
• Considers physical, social, and aesthetic data
• Let natural characteristics determine the choice
  of a site

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Environmental Impact Analysis

• 1969- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
• All major federal actions which could affect the
  quality of the human environment must be preceded
  by an evaluation of the project and the potential
  impact to the environment
• Environmental Impact Statements
• Discussion of the environmental consequences of
  the proposed project and of the alternatives
• State Environmental Impact Legislation
• State Environmental Policy Acts (SEPAs)
• California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

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What do Environmental Geologists do?

• Mostly Site Assessments (ESAs) and BrownFields
  Studies

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What are ESAs?

• Identify/evaluate
• environmental concerns
• Magnitude and extent of contamination
• Cleanup goals
• Remediation options
• Future land use

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Phase I ESA

• Identify potential environmental concerns
• All Appropriate Inquiry
• Involves
• Records review
• Site reconnaissance
• Interviews
• Report

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Phase II ESA

• Evaluates potential concerns from Phase I
• Tailored to site-specific needs
• Limited sampling/analysis
• Confirm/rule out concerns
• Expanded sampling/analysis
• Amount and extent of contamination
• Recommended cleanup goals/options

Increasing Costs
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Phase III ESA

• Corrective actions for environmental concerns

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Environmental Concernsat Brownfields

• Buildings and Improvements
• Underground/ aboveground storage tanks
• Process areas/ machinery
• Asbestos
• Lead-based paint
• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
• Fill materials

• Impaired soil, water, or air conditions from
  historical use
• Land uses
• Waste storage/ disposal
• Manufacturing/industrial
• Transportation/rail
• Petroleum
• Mining
• Agribusiness

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What are ESAs? Summary
Focus on
Site Improvements

• Land Uses

Past, Present Future

• Contaminants Related Risk

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Sampling/Analysis Sampling Methods

• Conventional
• borings/excavation
• groundwater monitoring wells
• decontamination/plugging/abandonment/waste
  disposal
• crude field-screening
• off-site analysis

• Accelerated
• geophysical surveys
• direct-push probes
• field labs/test kits
• off-site analytical confirmation
• electronic data archiving/interpretation

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Sampling/Analysis Sampling Methods

• Conventional drilling/sampling technology

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Sampling/Analysis Sampling Methods

• Screening/field-based methods - Direct-push
  methods

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Sampling/Analysis Sampling Methods

• Geophysical Methods

Ground-Penetrating Radar
Electromagnetic Conductivity Magnetic Surveys