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NATIONAL NEED AND CRITICAL ISSUE (NRC, 1989)
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RECOMMENDED ACTIONS (NRC, 1989)
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MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGH 2004
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Waste Management
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Current processes used to initiate remediation of toxic and hazardous waste problems and permit new disposal facilities are slow, complex, costly, and adversarial. There is an urgent need for rapid, effective, and economical cleanup of waste-contaminated sites.
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Develop more technically attainable regulatory standards.
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New standards and regulations are more realistic: EPA’s EMS concept developed.
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Introduce new waste containment and treatment technologies.
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Significant advances have been made in waste containment and in situ remediation technologies.
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Allow technical considerations higher priority than enforcement considerations.
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Risk-based corrective action has allowed for more realistic site-specific requirements.
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Change the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study process to the observational approach.
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Monitored natural attenuation represents an application of the observational approach to remediation.
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Improve instrumentation needed for performance assessment.
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Automated and remote measuring and monitoring systems have been developed.
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Improve site characterization.
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Some advances, but better site characterization is still a critical need.
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