Long-Term Monitoring of Permeable Reactive Barriers - Progress Report

The purpose of this project is to conduct collaborative research to evaluate and maximize the effectiveness of permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) with a broad-based working group including representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) and its project partner, Battelle, are leading the DoD effort with funding from DoD's Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) and Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is coordinating the DOE effort with support from Subsurface Contaminant Focus Area (SCFA), a research program under DOEs Office of Science and Technology. The National Risk Management Research Laboratory's Subsurface Protection and Remediation Division is leading EPA's effort. The combined effort of these three agencies allows the evaluation of a large number of sites. Documents generated by this joint project will be reviewed by the participating agencies' principal investigators, the Permeable Barriers Group of the Remediation Technologies Development Forum (RTDF), and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Cooperation (ITRC). The technical objectives of this project are to collect and review existing field data at selected PRB sites, identify data gaps, conduct additional measurements, and provide recommendations to DOE users on suitable long-term monitoring strategies. The specific objectives are to (1) evaluate geochemical and hydraulic performance of PRBs, (2) develop guidelines for hydraulic and geochemical characterization/monitoring, and (3) devise and implement long-term monitoring strategies through the use of hydrological and geochemical models. Accomplishing these objectives will provide valuable information regarding the optimum configuration and lifetime of barriers at specific sites. It will also permit development of site-specific monitoring and performance plans, thus optimizing operation and maintenance (O&M) costs while increasing confidence of both regulators and end users in applying the barrier technology