Surprise! The environmental and regulatory process is full of unfamiliar words and acronyms. This makes it intimidating and difficult to communicate your points. Here are a few of my favorites to make you the professional on the Superfund Site. –
Note: unless otherwise shown – acronyms are generally stated as the specific letters, e.g. F S.
Term Definition
ARARs – (A-rars) Applicable Relevant and Appropriate Regulations:
Superfund decisions and cleanup need to comply with a range of local, state and federal laws. For example, professional registration, state cleanup requirements, waste disposal.
“The state stature that requires professional engineering signatures on documents is an ARAR for the Koppers site.”
DNAPL – (dee napple) Dense NonAqueous Phase Liquid:
Nonaqueous – organic liquid like an oil that doesn’t dissolve in water.
Dense – key point: when mixed with water it will sink.
Koppers creosote wastes are DNAPLs. This term conveys many things. This organic phase has the potential to migrate vertically downward – or travel sideways along a clay layer.
Difficult to clean up – potential to increase vertical migration during remediation.
FS - Feasibility Study:
It looks at different alternatives for clean¬ing up the site and recommends selection of a cost-effective alternative
ROD – rod: Record of Decision
It is an official documentation of how EPA consid¬ered the remedial alternatives and why EPA selected the final remedy.
SCTLs: Soil Cleanup Target Levels
Florida’s term defining concentrations that are protective for residential land use, commercial land use or preventing ongoing contamination of groundwater
GCTLs: Groundwater Cleanup Target Levels
Florida’s term defining concentrations that are protective for groundwater drinking.
Delineate:
Distinguish area with “background” concentration from area that has been impacted by site-related activities.
Leaching:
Dissolution in water of chemicals present in soil. These contaminants are carried downward with water causing groundwater contamination.
Aquifer / Groundwater:
Underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials (gravel, silt, sand or clay) that contains water which can be extracted by installing water wells.
FDEP: Florida Department of Environment Protection
Lead agency at the state level for environmental management and stewardship protecting our air, water, and land. Florida’s environmental priorities include restoring America’s Everglades, improving air quality, restoring and protecting the water quality in our springs, lakes, rivers and coastal waters, conserving environmentally-sensitive lands and providing citizens and visitors with recreational opportunities, now and in the future.
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
Federal agency that is aimed to protect human health and the environment.
ISBS: In-situ biogeochemical stabilization
Remedy component included by the EPA in the Proposed Plan. Injection of a buffered solution of sodium permanganate and catalysts into the target zone in order to react with organic COCs. It results in the formation of a geochemical solid that is unable to spread in the groundwater.
ISSS: In-situ solidification stabilization
Remedy proposed by the EPA in the Proposed Plan if the implemented ISBS does not meet performance criteria.“This remedy component consists of applying additives (cement, lime, fly ash, or polymers) to bind with the soil particles to reduce the mobility of the contaminants.”
Creosote:
Mixture of many chemicals. Coal tar creosote is used as a wood preservative (see chemicals of concern for additional information).
PCP: Pentachlorophenol
Used at the Koppers Site from the beginning of the 1960s until the 1990s as a wood preservative (see chemicals of concern for additional information).
PAH: Polyaromatic Hyrdocarbons
Group of different chemicals (naphthalene, benzo(a)pyrene…)
They form during the incomplete combustion of coal, gas… (see chemicals of concern for additional information)
TCDDeq
There are many different contaminants that are dioxins. Each one has a different toxicity.2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is considered the most toxic contaminant belonging to this group. TCDD-TEQ (Toxicity Equivalent) expresses the toxicity of a mixture of different dioxins as if all of them were TCDDs (see chemicals of concern for additional information)
BaPeq: Benzo(a)pyrene
Belongs to the Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon group and is considered reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Benzo(a)pyrene is naturally present in coal tar which was used at the Koppers Site to treat wood (see chemicals of concern for additional information)
Presumptive remedy:
Certain Superfund sites have similar characteristics (contaminants present, disposal practices…). Presumptive remedies are designed by the EPA based on this site and are designed to accelerate future cleanups of these sites.
