Pollution and Waste Treatment Solutions for Environmental Professionals

News

EPA Report Examines Treatment Technologies for Mercury in Soil, Waste and Water

September 1, 2007

In August, EPA released a report that contains information on the availability, performance and cost of eight technologies for the treatment of mercury in soil, waste and water.

The document, "Treatment Technologies For Mercury in Soil, Waste, and Water," describes the theory, design and operation of the technologies; provides information on commercial availability and use; and includes site-specific data on performance and cost, where available. This information can help managers at sites with mercury-contaminated media and generators of mercury-contaminated waste and wastewater to:

  • Identify proven and effective mercury treatment technologies.
  • Screen technologies based on application-specific goals, characteristics, and cost.
  • Apply experiences from sites with similar treatment challenges.

The technologies for soil and waste that are included in the report are solidification and stabilization, soil washing and acid extraction, thermal treatment, and vitrification. Technologies for water include precipitation/coprecipitation, adsorption, membrane filtration, and biological treatment. The report also includes information on ongoing research on mercury treatment, including applications using nanotechnology, phytoremediation, air stripping, and in situ thermal desorption.

The report can be accessed in PDF format at http://www.clu-in.org/goto.cfm?link=%2Fdownload%2Fremed%2F542r07003%2Epdf&id=688.

Opinion

Will EPA be Forced to Issue a Climate Change Endangerment Finding?

On April 2, 2008, exactly one year after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, 12 states, supported by an additional five states as amicus curiae, as well as the District of Columbia, the cities of New York and Baltimore, and a number of environmental organizations, filed a petition for mandamus with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking to compel the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to act on remand within 60 days.

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