You are here:
SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES
Citation:
Timberlake*, D L. SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME BARRIERS TO IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES. Presented at EPA/GLNPO Sediment Treatment Technologies Workshop, Ann Arbor, MI, 4/24-25/2001.
Description:
To make treatment a viable option for remediation you must first identify the barriers to implementing treatment. The primary barrier is economics. Treatment options are relatively expensive and there is a lack of funds for treatment. The cost of technologies can be lowered by 1) technology development and 2) inventing new ways of doing business. Treatment technology can be improved by conducting demonstrations of existing technologies and by developing new approaches to treatment. New approaches including in-situ treatment and passive treatment (e.g., treatment within Confined Disposal Facilities). In promoting treatment as a viable option for managing contaminated sediments, it is helpful to think of new ways of conducting treatment. Rather than transient single site cleanup efforts, the establishment of Treatment Centers which could treat a large amount of material from multiple sites would allow for the realization of an economy of scale. Finding beneficial uses for treated sediments could result in a sellable product and do away the need for disposal. Since treatment usually requires the removal of sediment, research aimed at improving dredging efficiency would reduce treatment train costs.
To increase the availability of funds for sediment risk management, it will be necessary to increase public support for remediation. Public support can be increased by 1) better demonstrating the environmental, health, and economic consequences of sediment contamination and 2) better demonstrating the benefits of sediment remediation.
It doesn't appear that current treatment technologies will become cheap enough to compete successfully with disposal. Demonstrations of existing technologies are of value, because they increase confidence in performance and cost estimates. There is aneed to develop new approaches to treatment, i.e., passive approaches such as treatment within a Confined Disposal Facility. Additionally, we need to explore the establishment of Treatment Centers. Research on the development and engineering of marketable products with treated material would help the economic equation. Finally, the cost of sediment contamination and the benefits of remediation need to be clearly articulated to increase public support for remediation.