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Contractors selected for NY/NJ sediment cleanup pilot

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Page 1: Contractors selected for NY/NJ sediment cleanup pilot

nEWS TECHNOLOGY

Contractors selected for NY/NJ sediment cleanup pilot Seven contractors have been se­lected to begin bench-scale tests of technologies to decontaminate dredged sediments from New York/ New Jersey Harbor. The har­bor contains some of the world's most contaminated silt. Within a year, the technologies are to be examined at the pilot-scale level, and final selections will be made for the most effective ones, ac­cording to Department of Energy and EPA officials.

By early 1997, a full-scale de­contamination program is to be under way, removing contami­nants from the millions of tons of harbor sediments that must be dredged to keep the busy port open, according to Eric Stern, program manager for EPA Region II, and Keith Jones, DOE program administrator. DOE Brookhaven National Laboratory, aided by several universities, is responsible for assessing the technologies and for issuing grants to fund the demonstration projects. In 1992, Congress provided $6.5 million for remediation demonstration projects and after several delays, the project is now under way (ES&T, April 1995, p. 169AJ.

Stern and Jones said in late June that the seven contractors would be announced by the end of July. In all, 25 companies pre­sented proposals to clean and reuse the contaminated sedi­ments. Contaminants include di-oxin, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocar­bons, pesticides, mercury, chro­mium, and lead at levels that threaten the environment and human health as well as exceed ocean dumping standards.

The selected technologies in­clude vitrification, soil washing and separation, several forms of stabilization and solidification, low-temperature thermal desorp-tion, solvent extraction, and ther-mo- and electrochemical tech­niques. Stern expected the technologies will be used as a "treatment train," removing pol­lutants in a series of operations.

With ocean dumping no

longer permitted and land dis­posal sites hard to find, decon­tamination technologies, despite their price, are seen as a viable solution to a complex problem. In June, for instance, the Port Au­thority of New York and New Jer­sey and the State of New York paid $17.7 million to ship 150,000 cubic yards of contaminated sedi­ments to a Utah landfill, far more than the $5-30 per cubic yard cost for ocean disposal. Stern pre­dicted that the cost of decontami­nation would be less than $100 a cubic yard, making it cheaper than shipping the waste to Utah but much more expensive than dumping it.

Jones said DOE's goal is to quickly go to full-scale cleanup. He also said DOE will seek fund­ing in its 1997 appropriation to make the cleanup operation an "urban laboratory" to gain experi­ence in sediment cleanups and to apply it to thousands of other U.S. sites.

The sediments will be col­lected from highly contaminated Newtown Creek, Stern said. Ven­dors will receive a share of some 400 gallons of sediments for bench tests. The Port Authority and city of Newark, NJ, will pro­vide a two-acre site where con­tractors will decontaminate 25 cubic yards at the pilot level.

In their bids, vendors pro-

Taxes on waste and consumption and a shift of responsibility for the fate of products to manufac­turers are likely recommendations of a presidential task force exam­ining sustainable development.

In a preview of findings from the President's Council on Sustain­able Development, co-chairs David Buzzelli, vice president of Dow Chemical Co., and Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute, explained the Council's approach and outlined some rec­ommendations at a June Resources for the Future symposium.

Arthur Kill, Newark Bay, and Newtown Creek are NY/NJ Harbor areas with high sediment contaminant concentrations. Be­cause Newtown Creek has the highest lev­els of most pollutants, its sediments will be used for the pilot project.

posed "beneficial uses" for cleaned sediments, which in­cluded incorporation in asphalt, construction aggregate, landfill cover, and artificial reef blocks. However, because of the contro­versy over ocean dumping of sed­iments, which has pitted long­shoremen and the Port Authority against fishermen, shore resi­dents, and businesses, Stern said it was doubtful any of the dredge spoils would ever again touch the sea, even if decontaminated. —JEFF JOHNSON

Formed two years ago to look into policies that foster sustain­able development and economic vitality, the Council will forward its policy recommendations to the president this fall.

The 25-member Council in­cludes top corporate officials, en­vironmentalists, cabinet mem­bers, and government and community leaders. At its first meeting in July 1993, the Council was termed a "linchpin" by Vice President Gore because of what he said was its role in developing

(continued on next page)

Sustainable development plan due this fall

VOL. 29, NO. 8, 1995/ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY • 3 5 3 A