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 dioxin, 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 desorption, solvent extraction, and thermo- 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-
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
Sustainable development plan due this fall 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. VOL.
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)
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