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Status of
ECOS/DOD National
Dialogue on Emerging Contaminants
Gary S. Moran, Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, Southeast Region
Overview
of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
Brooke Moore, ENSR Corporation, Westford, MA
Biodegradation
and Bioremediation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in
Groundwater
Paul B. Hatzinger,
Ph.D, Shaw Environmental, Inc., Lawrenceville, NJ
Status
of the Environmental Council of States/Department of
Defense National Dialogue on Emerging Contaminants
Gary S. Moran,
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, 20
Riverside Drive, Lakeville, Massachusetts, 02347, Tel:
508-946-2712, Fax: 508-947-6557, Email: gary.moran@state.ma.us.
Each of the 50 states and
every U.S. territory is home to at least one military
facility of some kind.
While the sustainability of the environment at
these ranges is a shared goal and interest of states and
the Department of Defense (DOD), there are also great
pressures stemming from conflicting uses, mission, and
priorities.
In 2004, recognizing the
significant challenges and tensions arising between
important military activities on DOD installations and
need to ensure environmental protection, the Environmental
Council of States (ECOS)— a national non-profit,
non-partisan association of state and territorial
environmental agency leaders, working with DOD,
established the ECOS-DOD Sustainability Workgroup. This
Workgroup serves as a focal point for discussions between
ECOS and DOD regarding issues related to sustainability,
and to foster cooperation and coordination in better
planning and environmental management.
The Workgroup was divided
into 3 major Task Groups, including the Emerging
Contaminants in Groundwater Task Group.
In recent years, one of the most challenging issues
confronting states and DOD has been the response to and
management of emerging contaminants.
The recent experience with perchlorate illustrates
some of the difficult issues surrounding emerging
contaminants.
The Emerging Contaminants
Task Group was formed to define the issues and challenges
posed by emerging contaminants, and to develop plans of
action to address such challenges.
In November 2005, the Task Group organized a forum
involving state and federal stakeholders to identify and
prioritize proposed actions.
Based on the Forum’s recommendations, the Task
Group is currently working on the highest priority
actions, including a
survey of states on emerging contaminants and papers on
the following issues related to emerging contaminants:
risk communication;
pollution prevention strategy and workplan;
use of provisional values in risk assessment; and
initiation of actions and funding for emerging
contaminants.
Tungsten:
Emerging Heavy Metal
Mark J. Begley, Executive Director, Massachusetts
Environmental Management Commission, Camp Edwards, MA
02542, Tel: 508-968-5127, Email: Mark.Begley@state.ma.us
The
search for alternatives to lead ammunition for small arms
and to depleted uranium penetrators has been a challenge
for the military and the ammunition industry.
Care must be taken that the environmental fate and
transport of alternative materials, as well as the human
health consequences are adequately examined and
communicated to users before the material becomes widely
distributed. Based
on solid science and risk assessment principles, best
management practices for ranges and pollution prevention
techniques covering manufacturing, deployment, use and
demilitarization must be developed along with the
projectiles. The
recent experience with tungsten at the Massachusetts
Military Reservation is examined to demonstrate some of
the information needed to make knowledgeable decisions
regarding the use of alternative materials that are also
emerging contaminates.
Overview
of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
Brooke Moore,
E.I.T., ENSR Corporation, 2
Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886. Tel.
978-589-3000, FAX 978-589-3705, E-mail: bmoore@ensr.aecom.com
Cynthia Cogan, P.E., ENSR Corporation, 2 Technology Park
Drive, Westford, MA 01886. Tel. 978-589-3000, FAX
978-589-3705, E-mail: ccogan@ensr.aecom.com
Arthur Taddeo, ENSR Corporation, 2 Technology Park Drive,
Westford, MA 01886. Tel. 978-589-3000, FAX 978-589-3705,
E-mail: ataddeo@ensr.aecom.com
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been
reviewing data and developing a draft risk assessment for
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA).
PFOA is a synthetic chemical, sometimes referred to
as “C8”, used by chemical companies and manufacturers
to make non-stick cookware (including Teflon®), water
repellant coatings for all-weather clothing and fabrics,
food packing, gaskets, O-rings, and hoses. It is chiefly
used in producing fluoropolymers which are employed in
almost all commercial industry segments including
aerospace, automotive, building/construction, chemical
processing, electrical and electronics, semiconductor, and
textile industries. The
durability of PFOA due to its specific chemical structure
prevents breakdown in the environment.
This leads to widespread bioaccumulation in the
food chains. It
is this bioaccumulation which prompted the EPA to conduct
a further evaluation of PFOA and its potential to
adversely affect human health.
Scientists do not yet know how PFOA is transported
within the environment; however, studies in adult rats
show that the ammonium salt of PFOA is absorbed following
ingestion, inhalation, and dermal exposure.
This presentation presents a brief overview of the chemical
and discusses toxicological research results, the EPA’s
current status on developing a risk assessment, and the
future of PFOA going forward.
Biodegradation
and Bioremediation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in
Groundwater
Paul B. Hatzinger,
Ph.D, Shaw Environmental, Inc., 17 Princess Road, Lawrenceville, NJ
08648, Tel:
609-895-5356, Fax: 609-895-1858, Email:
paul.hatzinger@shawgrp.com
Sheryl Streger, Shaw
Environmental, Inc., 17 Princess Road, Lawrenceville, NJ
08648, Tel:
609-895-5374, Fax: 609-895-1858, Email:
sheryl.streger@shawgrp.com
Jalal Hawari, Ph.D., Biotechnology Research Institute, NRC
6100 Royalmount Ave., Montreal (PQ), Canada, H4P 2R2,
Tel: 514-496-6267, Fax: 514-496-6265, Email:
Jalal.Hawari@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca
Diane Fournier, Ph.D., Biotechnology Research Institute,
NRC 6100 Royalmount Ave., Montreal (PQ), Canada, H4P
2R2, Tel: 514-496-6267, Fax: 514-496-6265, Email: Diane.Fournier@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca
N-Nitrosodimethylamine
(NDMA) is a potent carcinogen and an emerging groundwater
contaminant in the U.S.
The objective of this research was to study NDMA
biodegradation and to explore in
situ and ex situ
bioremediation strategies for this contaminant.
Initial studies revealed that specific
propanotrophs and toluene-oxidizing strains were capable
of degrading NDMA. Two
different biodegradation pathways were observed.
The toluene-oxidizer Pseudomonas
mendocina KR1 initially added a single oxygen molecule
to the nitroso group of NDMA to form N-nitrodimethylamine,
which was subsequently metabolized to N-nitromethylamine
and trace amounts of formaldehyde.
In contrast, the propanotroph Rhodococcus
ruber ENV425 degraded NDMA into formaldehyde,
methylamine, nitrate, nitrite, carbon dioxide, and
methanol. Both degradation pathways will be presented.
To evaluate the potential for ex
situ treatment, a suspended growth reactor was seeded
with P. mendocina
KR1 and continuously fed toluene as a primary growth
substrate. NDMA
was fed to the reactor at concentrations ranging from 25
to 250 mg/L to represent typical groundwater levels.
Strain KR1 consistently removed greater than 99.9 %
of the added NDMA, and effluent concentrations below 0.09 mg/L (the MDL for the experiment)
were achieved during the 4-month study.
In addition to bioreactor studies, the potential
for in situ treatment of NDMA was examined using aquifer samples from
three locations around the U. S.
Microcosm data indicated that indigenous bacteria
capable of mineralizing 14C-NDMA to 14CO2
under aerobic conditions are indigenous in some aquifers.
However, the biodegradation process appears to be
largely co-metabolic and dependent on the presence of one
or more additional carbon and energy sources.
NDMA mineralization was also observed under
sulfate-reducing conditions but not under denitrifying,
iron-reducing or methanogenic conditions in one set of
aquifer samples. The results from this research provide a
basis for the further development of in
situ and ex situ biological approaches for NDMA treatment.
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