Material Detail

This activity helps students understand some of the reasoning and science involved in choosing technologies for cleaning up Superfund hazardous waste sites. They discover that the responsibility for selecting the most appropriate cleanup method for a specific site rests with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Remedial Project Manager (RPM) or On-Scene Coordinator (OSC), with input from the affected community. An important step in this selection process is narrowing the field of alternatives and developing a list of options that make sense for dealing with the contamination at the site. The students analyze the pros and cons of using various technologies for cleaning up specific hazardous waste problems, weighing factors such as contaminant-specific requirements, technological limitations, reliability, cleanup time, and cost.

Disciplines:

• Science and Technology  / Engineering  / Environmental Engineering