From: | Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org> |
Date: | Mon, 7 Jun 1999 22:45:32 -0700 (PDT) |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | "Plumathon" study available on Web |
The March, 1999 report, "Historical Case Analysis of Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compound" is now available on the worldwide web as a fairly large "pdf" file at http://www-erd.llnl.gov/library/AR-133361.pdf. This is the "plumathon" study, based upon the statistical analysis of site characterization data from 65 properties contaminated with TCE, PCE, TCA, and other chlorinated compounds. The study team, led by Walt McNab, Jr. and David Rice from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, came up with a number of useful findings. For example, they concluded that plume length is primarily a function of source strength and groundwater velocity. The authors assert, "Specific hydrogeologic conditions and contaminant release scenarios at individual sites are not so unique that expected overall trends in the data are completely obscured." However, there is nothing in the report to suggest that remedy selection decisions - that is, when and where to rely upon monitored natural attenuation - can be made in the absence of detailed site-specific information. As such, it does not provide the same type of "magic bullet" analysis as the Livermore team's "Leaking Underground Fuel Tank" study, which found that the natural breakdown of fuel compounds was so prevalent that it dramatically altered strategies, across the nation, for dealing with gasoline and other fuel leaks and spills. -- Lenny Siegel Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/968-1126 lsiegel@cpeo.org (PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE PHASING OUT MY OLD E-MAIL ADDRESS: lsiegel@igc.org) http://www.cpeo.org | |
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