NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Harold Liebowitz are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant No. 1434-93-A-0982.
Copyright 1996 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Copies available from the Water Science and Technology Board, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418.
Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER, Chairman,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
LISA ALVAREZ-COHEN,
University of California, Berkeley
KENNETH R. BRADBURY,
Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Madison
CONSTANCE HUNT,
World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.
DAWN S. KABACK,
Colorado Center for Environmental Management, Denver
DAVID H. MOREAU,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
FREDERICK G. POHLAND,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
FRANK W. SCHWARTZ,
The Ohio State University, Columbus
LEONARD SHABMAN,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg
MITCHELL J. SMALL,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ALAN T. STONE,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
DAVID A. WOOLHISER,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
National Research Council Staff
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Project Director
ANITA A. HALL, Project Assistant
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
DAVID L. FREYBERG, Chair,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
BRUCE E. RITTMANN, Vice Chair,
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
LINDA M. ABRIOLA,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
PATRICK L. BREZONIK,
Water Resources Research Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
JOHN BRISCOE,
The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
WILLIAM M. EICHBAUM,
The World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.
WILFORD R. GARDNER,
University of California, Berkeley
THOMAS M. HELLMAN,
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, New York, New York
CAROL A. JOHNSTON,
University of Minnesota, Duluth
WILLIAM M. LEWIS, JR.,
University of Colorado, Boulder
JOHN W. MORRIS,
J.W. Morris Ltd., Arlington, Virginia
CAROLYN H. OLSEN,
Brown and Caldwell, Pleasant Hill, California
CHARLES R. O'MELIA,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
REBECCA T. PARKIN,
American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C.
IGNACIO RODRIGUEZ-ITURBE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
FRANK W. SCHWARTZ,
Ohio State University, Columbus
HENRY J. VAUX, JR.,
University of California, Riverside
Staff
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Director
SHEILA D. DAVID, Senior Staff Officer
CHRIS ELFRING, Senior Staff Officer
GARY D. KRAUSS Staff Officer
JACQUELINE MACDONALD Senior Staff Officer
JEANNE AQUILINO Administrative Associate
ETAN GUMERMAN Research Associate
ANGELA F. BRUBAKER Research Assistant
ANITA A. HALL Administrative Assistant
MARY BETH MORRIS Senior Project Assistant
ELLEN DEGUZMAN Senior Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN, Chair,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
JAMES P. BRUCE,
Canadian Climate Program Board, Ottawa, Canada
WILLIAM L. FISHER,
University of Texas, Austin
JERRY F. FRANKLIN,
University of Washington, Seattle
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
DEBRA S. KNOPMAN,
Progressive Foundation, Washington, D.C.
PERRY L. MCCARTY,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
JUDITH E. MCDOWELL,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
S. GEORGE PHILANDER,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario
THOMAS C. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park
ELLEN K. SILBERGELD,
University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director
GREGORY SYMMES, Reports Officer
JAMES E. MALLORY, Administrative Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
SUSAN SHERWIN, Project Assistant
Preface
This report is a product of the Committee on USGS Water Resources Research, which provides consensus advice to the Water Resources Division (WRD) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on scientific, research, and programmatic issues. The committee is one of the groups that works under the auspices of the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) of the National Research Council. The committee considers a variety of topics that are important scientifically and programmatically to the USGS and the nation and issues reports when appropriate.
This report concerns the WRD science and technology that is relevant to hazardous materials in the soil and water environment, including the subsurface, stream and lake sediments, and surface waters. Within the USGS, this work is dispersed in a number of WRD program areas, including basic research, regional and site assessments, and data collection activities.
In the United States, a massive effort is in progress to remediate sites at which hazardous materials threaten the environment. For perspective, it has been estimated that there may be as many as 300,000 sites where soil and/or ground water may require remediation to reverse the negative impacts of past industrial, military, agricultural, and commercial activity. Estimates of the costs of this effort over the next several decades approach a trillion dollars. The science and technology carried out in the WRD, though modest in terms of investment, contributes significantly to the national effort by continually imparting new understanding about the natural processes relevant to the transport, fate, and remediation of hazardous substances in the soil and water environments.
This report attempts to help shape the overall framework for the agency's research in hazardous materials science and technology, while pointing up general areas of scientific opportunity, including communications and education. As such, the report does not represent an in-depth review of all germane WRD programs and projects, but instead is a more general document intended to provide strategic advice to WRD management.
The committee began its review in late 1993, when most members participated in the regular meeting of the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Subsequently, the committee met five more times before completing this report. At meetings, members were briefed by USGS personnel on a variety of programs and toured field sites—such as the contaminated ground water sites at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, and a site of mining-related metals transport into the Arkansas River in Leadville, Colorado—to acquire information for review. The members wrote individual contributions and deliberated as a group to achieve consensus on the content of this report. It is hoped that by maintaining a broad, forward-looking perspective, this assessment will prove useful.
As the committee deliberated and became more cognizant of USGS activities, productive discussions occurred between the members and USGS personnel. This interaction was critical to success of this project. The committee is particularly grateful to Dr. Robert M. Hirsch, Chief Hydrologist, Dr. Gail E. Mallard, Acting Assistant Chief Hydrologist for Research and External Coordination, and their colleagues for all the information and cooperation they provided.
It is hoped that this report will help promote the understanding of natural processes relevant to hazardous materials science and technology, and that in turn, this improved understanding will lead to advances in public policy and environmental management. The work of the USGS in this area is key to making progress on one of the most crucial natural resources science policy issues of our time.
George M. Hornberger
Chair, Committee on USGS
Water Resources Research