Evaluation of vacuum and wet-wipe methods for removal of World Trade Center dust from indoor environments.

The destruction of the buildings at the World Trade Center (WTC) complex dispersed dust and debris into the surrounding area. Pulverized building material made up most of the fallout and was intermixed with combustion byproducts of the aircraft and building contents. A study was conducted to confirm the effectiveness of several cleaning procedures in removing WTC-related contamination from lower Manhattan residences. The contaminants included asbestos, lead, dioxin/furans, synthetic vitreous fibers (fibrous glass), and crystalline silica. All cleaning procedures included the common elements of vacuuming and wet wiping with soap and water. This cleaning procedure combination is effective in reducing WTC-related contamination to below health-based benchmarks. Post-cleaning environmental test results suggested that airborne asbestos measurements can be used as a surrogate parameter in clearance determinations.

Review of Separation Technologies for Treating Pesticide-Contaminated Soil.

Pesticide contamination results from manufacturing, improper storage, handling, or disposal of pesticides, and from agricultural processes. Since most pesticides are mixtures of different compounds, selecting a remedy for pesticide-contaminated soils can be a complicated process. The various available treatment options for remediation fall into three broad categories: containment-immobilization, separation-concentration, and destruction. This paper categorizes pesticides into waste groups based on available treatment options and provides a review of separation treatment options that have been demonstrated to-or show potential to- treat pesticide-contaminated soil. Technologies include radio frequency heating, soil washing, thermal desorp-tion, and solvent extraction.