Geosyntec professionals will make significant technical contributions at the Florida Remediation Conference at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Florida on December 5 – 6, 2018.

Jim Langenbach, P.E., BCEE (Florida), as Conference Chair, will open the conference by delivering "A Word from the Chair;" Rula Deeb, Ph.D., BCEEM, PMP (California), Mike Burcham, P.E., (Texas), and Joseph Bartlett, P.E. (Florida), will deliver technical presentations; and Joe Applegate, P.G. (Florida) will moderate a session. Additionally, Phil Dennis, MASc (Ontario) will represent SiREM, a division of Geosyntec by presenting a technical session. SiREM will be at Booth #82, so be sure to stop by and talk with Phil.

Jim is a Senior Principal Environmental Engineer based in Florida with more than 20 years of experience focused on assisting clients with environmental assessments; remediation design and treatment system optimization; environmental management systems; sustainable remediation designs; and regulatory compliance

Rula is a Senior Principal Civil and Environmental Engineer based in California with more than 25 years of experience focused on private practice and academia addressing the cross-media fate and transport of contaminants, and the remediation of complex soil and groundwater sites impacted by non-aqueous phase liquids.

Mike is a Professional Engineer based in Texas with experience including oversight of multiple drilling techniques; groundwater, vapor intrusion, sediment, surface water, and soil sampling; monitoring well installation and development; data evaluation and analysis; remedial system technology evaluation, design, and implementation; and geotechnical logging.

Joseph Bartlett is an Environmental Engineer based in Florida with experience including environmental project management, remedial design and implementation, and performance of fieldwork at chlorinated volatile organic compound, petroleum, metal, and pesticide contaminated sites.

Joe Applegate is a Professional Geologist based in Florida with 30 years of experience, including managing multiple FDEP environmental contracts and programs and managing remedial programs for private and public projects at industrial sites including petroleum, hazardous, and nonhazardous waste sites.

Phil is a Senior Manager /Senior Scientist based in Ontario with 25 years of experience in research and management of molecular biology, microbiology, and environmental remediation laboratories. Phil played a key role in the initial planning and startup of SiREM and the development and implementation of SiREM's products and services.

The Florida Remediation Conference (FRC) is the Southeast's premier soil and groundwater cleanup industry conference. Over 500 professionals attended last year's FRC in Orlando.

Geosyntec Participation

Title: A Word from the Chair
Session: Opening Session
Presenter: Jim Langenbach, P.E., BCEE
Time: 9:00 a.m., December 5, 2018

Title: Technical and Regulatory Issues Resulting from the Use of PFAS at Industrial and Military Facilities: A National and International Perspective
Session: Opening Session
Presenter: Rula Deeb, Ph.D., BCEEM, PMP
Time: 9:35 a.m., December 5, 2018
Abstract:
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, are a class of manmade chemicals. They are not naturally found in the environment. Due to the strength of their carbon-fluorine bonds, PFAS are persistent in the environment and difficult to remediate, and PFAS exposures and risks can result in regulatory concerns and active management at contaminated sites and in surrounding areas. This presentation will provide an overview of PFAS sources, chemistry, environmental fate and transport, exposure pathways and toxicology. The occurrence of PFAS in drinking water sources in the U.S. and Australia will be discussed, together the regulatory response at the federal and state levels in both countries. This presentation will focus on providing a synthesis of the state of knowledge regarding the characterization and remediation of PFAS impacted sites. Two case studies will be discussed detailing innovate PFAS treatment technologies. The first case study looks at PFAS degradation and mass removal using thermally-enhanced persulfate followed by pump-and-treat. The objective of this Environmental Security Technology Certification Program project is to demonstrate a cost-effective in situ treatment train approach to destroy or capture PFAS, thereby reducing contaminant mass and the overall duration and cost of remediation. Treatability results have shown that heat activated persulfate at low pH fully degrades PFOA and other perfluorinated carboxylic acids as well as PFCA precursors. The removal of PFOS and other perfluorinated sulfonic acids is addressed by pump-and-treat in a treatment train following in-situ chemical oxidation. This technology addresses polyfluorinated compounds, a "hidden" long-term source of PFOA and other perfluoroalkyl acids. The second case study discusses smoldering combustion treatment of PFAS-impacted investigation-derived waste and soil. This case relies on smoldering combustion to destroy PFAS in solid and liquid investigation derived waste. Smoldering is a flameless form of combustion that occurs on the surface of a condensed fuel, converting organic material into primarily heat, carbon dioxide and water.

Title: Go Big: A Cleanup Case Study of a Multi-Acre Chlorinated Solvent Plume at Launch Complex 39B
Session: Concurrent Session 5A: Young Professionals
Presenter: Mike Burcham, P.E.
Time: 9:50 a.m., December 6, 2018
Abstract:
In the late 1990s, chlorinated volatile organic compound impacts were identified at Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, FL. Following multiple, subsequent field investigations, which relied heavily on high-resolution site characterization techniques, an approximately 27-acre dissolved CVOC plume was delineated. The dissolved CVOC impacts generally extended to 55 feet below land surface, the depth at which a fine sand/silt unit is present that retards vertical migration. A focused feasibility study was completed, and the selected path forward was air sparging a nine-acre area where CVOCs exceeded their respective natural attenuation default concentrations. Air sparging was selected as the proposed remedy because the soil permeability was high enough to support the technology, the effective radii of influence development has been documented at other KSC sites, and a quick turnaround was needed due to future site use (launches are expected to resume in the near future). This necessitated an aggressive and ambitious approach to remediate a multi-acre area in a short time period. The resulting design and turnkey installation is the largest air sparge system at KSC—and potentially in the southeastern U.S.— and includes 279 air sparge wells, 32 manifold/air distribution boxes, over three miles of piping/trenching, and a mobile treatment system housing a 100-horsepower air compressor and associated appurtenances/telemetry. This large-scale system was installed in approximately six months and operation commenced in July, 2017. The system operates 24 hours a day and cycles between four operational zones, and the operational schedule and parameters are continuously optimized to maximize performance. While the system is anticipated to operate for up to five years, performance monitoring activities spanning the first year of operation, through July, 2018, indicate that CVOC concentrations have been significantly reduced throughout the treatment area during the first year and it's estimated that total CVOC concentrations have been reduced by more than 90 percent.

Title: System Optimization and Utilization of Alternate Cleanup Criteria to Expedite Cleanup Objectives
Session: Concurrent Session 7B: Combined Remedies to Closure
Presenter: Joseph Bartlett
Time: 2:00 p.m., December 6, 2018
Abstract:
System Optimization and Utilization of Alternate Cleanup Criteria to Expedite Cleanup Objectives Joseph Bartlett, PE, Environmental Engineer, Geosyntec Consultants, Titusville Historic releases of petroleum product due to overfilling of above ground storage tanks resulted in both soil and groundwater impacts at an active marina facility located in Merritt Island. Soil impacts were immediately delineated and excavated from the site by others. Geosyntec completed groundwater site assessment activities, and preparation and implementation of an air sparge/soil vapor extraction remedial action plan. The remediation system was comprised of an AS/SVE system that provided air flow to 16 air sparge wells and vapor recovery from four vapor extraction wells. Monthly operation and maintenance events provided an opportunity to implement optimization strategies that included modifying operational configurations (i.e. changed air flow rates or operational wells) in order to avoid static conditions and to distribute air, as needed, based upon site-specific monitoring data. The system was further enhanced based on evaluation of performance monitoring sampling results, which included the installation of an additional air sparge well at a location where recalcitrant impacts remained. The AS/SVE system operated for approximately 1.5 years and was successful in reducing groundwater impacts to below target levels. In order to further expedite cleanup timeframes, 2017 changes to Chapter 62-780 FAC were leveraged. In particular, changes regarding alternate cleanup target limits pertaining to sites not eligible for state-funded site rehabilitation were utilized, which subjected the site to less stringent cleanup target limits for certain organoleptic constituents thereby, reducing the cleanup timeframe. Four quarters of post-active remediation monitoring has been completed at the site and a site rehabilitation completion order with no further action via risk management option is anticipated by the end of 2018.

Session 8: Annual Regulatory Session
Moderator: Joe Applegate, P.G.
Time: 3:15 p.m., December 6, 2018
Tallahassee Speakers: Teresa Booeshaghi, Program Administrator, Waste Cleanup, DEP, Tallahassee Austin Hofmeister, Program Administrator, Petroleum Restoration Program, DEP, Tallahassee Brian Dougherty, Environmental Administrator, DEP, Tallahassee Wilbur Mayorga, PE, Division Chief, Miami-Dade County RER DERM, Miami

SiREM Participation

Title: 1,4-Dioxane Bioremediation: The Expanding Tool Box for this Challenging Groundwater Contaminant
Session: Concurrent Session 7A: In-Situ Bioremediation 2
Presenter: Phil Dennis, MASc
Time: 2:30 p.m., December 6, 2018
Abstract:
1,4-dioxane is a probable carcinogen commonly detected in groundwater due to its use as a solvent stabilizer. The high solubility of 1,4-D often leads to large dilute plumes with associated remediation challenges. Fortunately, available options for implementing bioremediation in 1,4-D contaminated groundwater are increasing. Aerobic cometabolic bioventing utilizes the addition of oxygen and alkane gases to groundwater and has been tested in the lab and successfully implemented in the field. For example, at a DoD site in Arizona, sequential methane and oxygen gas infusion was used to enhance cometabolic 1,4-D degradation. Delivery of sufficient oxygen identified as a major challenge for in-situ bioremediation of 1,4-D and in some cases may favor ex-situ approaches, such as bioreactors. Bioremediation of 1,4-D by aerobic energy yielding pathways shows growing promise. A major milestone was the discovery of Pseudonocardia dioxanivorans CB11902, a microorganism that uses 1,4-D as an energy source. Molecular tools to quantify CB1190 1,4-D functional genes in groundwater allow assessment of intrinsic bioremediation potential at 1,4-D sites. Where indigenous 1,4-D biodegraders are absent, bioaugmentation is also an option. Bench-scale studies are demonstrating successful bioaugmentation with 1,4-D cultures and help to verify and optimize remediation strategies prior to field testing. Phytoremediation can provide hydraulic control and delivery of oxygen to groundwater and has been deployed at 1,4-D sites in North America and in Europe. Interest in phytoremediation paired with bioaugmentation is growing and the potential for this combined approach for treatment of 1,4-D plumes will be discussed.

More Information

Learn more about the event: https://www.enviro-net.com/ .
For consultation regarding remediation, contact Jim Langenbach at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Rula Deeb at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or SiREM's Phil Dennis at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Learn more about Jim at: https://www.geosyntec.com/people/james-langenbach