Remediation & Toxicology

In this 1-day course, attendees will learn what characterizes a “Brownfield” project, how it differs from a conventional “Greenfield” real estate transaction, and why it would be desirable for a public entity or private investor to pursue a Brownfield.

Participants will learn the components of a Brownfields transaction, what legal pathways are available through individual state programs to certify site closure, and a review of state-specific Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) cleanup processes.  Participants will come away with better understanding of the critical due diligence tasks that are necessary to complete a successful Brownfield transaction included legal, real estate, environmental, financing, risk transfer (insurance).  Case studies and active engagement with the attendees will be used to reinforce the points presented in lecture.

Understanding the topics covered will provide attendees with a current and better-informed perspective on the actual risk and reward afforded to individual investors and public entities that are motivated to produce a win-win financial reward and public benefit

*Reduced tuition is available for Native American tribes, government employees, nonprofits, students and AFS, NAEP, NEBC, TAEP members.

You may register online or by calling the Northwest Environmental Training Center at (425) 270-3274. Online registration is strongly encouraged.

Please wait to receive a course confirmation email, roughly one month prior to the class, before making any travel arrangements.

**Note - This course is now offered exclusively using live stream remote attendance. You will need a computer and an internet connection. If you would like more information or have any questions, please contact us via email or phone 425 270 3274.  

Contaminated sediment poses difficult assessment and remediation challenges but recent improvements in methodologies offer much promise. New assessment methods and improved remediation technologies that directly address contaminant mobility and bioavailability have enhanced our ability to effectively manage sediments. Advantages include reduced cost and improved effectiveness over conventional methods.

 In this two-day class, we will address both conventional and emerging technologies for remediating contaminated sediments including removal followed by treatment and disposal; in situ isolation of the sediments from the environment by covering the sediment with neutral materials (i.e., passive capping); active capping technologies, and monitored natural recovery, which involves monitoring processes that isolate, degrade, transform, and immobilize sediment contaminants under natural conditions. The course will address solutions to contaminants in both marine and freshwater sediments including the effects of remediation on the benthic environment. Emerging technologies that address contaminant toxicity, biogeochemistry and transport mechanisms will also be highlighted.

 The class will incorporate new approaches for including bioavailability in risk assessments and the evaluation of remedial effectiveness. Bioavailability controls the transfer of contaminants from sediments to ecological receptors and humans and can rarely be predicted from total contaminant concentrations alone. Successful evaluation of bioavailability involves the selection of analytical methods that are suitable for the organisms and sediment environments under consideration and often involves a weight-of-evidence that incorporates multiple lines of evidence.

 Although problems remain, contaminated sediment management/remediation is improving due to the control and elimination of contaminant sources, development of new remedial technologies, and selection of analytical methods to evaluate metal bioavailability.

After completing this class, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish sources and types of contaminants at the sites
• Determine fate and transport of contaminants
• Understand current remediation strategies and new approaches
• Identify remediation effectiveness: defining, monitoring, and demonstrating success
• Apply chemical/toxicological/biological measurements to characterize the site before/after the remediation
• Understand the selection of remedial technology
• Determine bioavailability of contaminants before and after remediation actions
• Understand the method of remedial technology deployment
• Apply novel, improved tools and techniques for site-specific assessment of contaminant before/after remedial

 CEC's: 13 Technical CEC's

*Reduced tuition is available for Native American tribes, government employees, nonprofits, students and AFS, NAEP, NEBC, TAEP members.

You may register online or by calling the Northwest Environmental Training Center at (425) 270-3274. Online registration is strongly encouraged.

Please wait to receive a course confirmation email, roughly one month prior to the class, before making any travel arrangements.

In this 3-day course, attendees will learn and review both the technical and regulatory approaches to completing ecological risk assessments. Participants will come away with an understanding of the planning and preparation process for the completion of an ERA, including data development needs, selection of endpoints, and the development of lines of evidence. Understanding the topics covered will give attendees the ability to accurately assess the potential for ecological risk, which is paramount to the remedial decision-making process. In today’s environmental project planning, this can make the difference between the success or failure of a recommended action or approach.

During the course, attendees will examine the development of ERAs in both aquatic and terrestrial settings, and will receive a broad overview of the ecological risk assessment (ERA) process as it is used in evaluating potential environmental risks and liabilities associated with hazardous waste sites. Emphasis will be placed on providing a hands-on understanding of ecological risk assessment using the basic ERA paradigm as outlined in USEPA’s Ecological Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund (ERAGS). Case studies and active engagement with the attendees will be used to reinforce the points presented in lecture.

Please wait to receive a course confirmation email, roughly one month prior to the class, before making any travel arrangements.

This training course presents principles and practical skills for conducting subsurface Environmental Assessments, with a focus on soil and groundwater contamination (and separate phase contaminants, if suspected or present). This course will review the process of Environmental Assessments conducted to determine whether suspected contamination is present. If a contaminant is present in sufficient quantity to be reportable and/or warrant further investigation (often referred to as a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment) and conducting assessment and delineation of a known release for submittal to an environmental regulatory agency. The class will provide a full spectrum of skills and knowledge to understand and execute a successful assessment.

Intended Audience: This course is intended for engineers, geologists, scientists and others conducting or needing to conduct or interpret Environmental Assessments. Environmental regulatory agency staff (federal, state and local), decision makers, consultants, environmental organization staff, attorneys, and interested citizens affected by or interested in Environmental Assessments will also benefit from the course.

Course Materials: Each participant will receive a copy of the course proceedings including notes and reference materials on the first day of the course.

Continuing Education Units: 1.3 CEU's

Registration: $395
You may register via the link below or by calling the Northwest Environmental Training Center at (425) 270-3274

Please wait to receive a course confirmation email, roughly one month prior to the class, before making any travel arrangements.
 

This introductory course provides participants with a strong foundation of aquatic toxicology and how these concepts are applied to managing pollutants in aquatic environments. The course covers terminology, common test designs, and endpoints such as lethality and endocrine disruption. Important legacy and emerging pollutants of concern such as heavy metals, organic pesticides, PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and nanoparticles will also be presented. Fate and transport as it relates to bioavailability and pollutant partitioning in aquatic environments will be discussed. Water Quality criteria from the Clean Water Act with an emphasis on, and examples of, site specific criteria for metals using hardness correction, water effects ratio (WER), and the biotic ligand model (BLM) are also included.

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply toxicology principles to environmental issues.
• Understand how aquatic organisms are exposed to toxic chemicals.
• Identify factors affecting toxicity.
• Understand similarities and differences between the toxicity of metals and organic chemicals.
• Understand modes of action of toxic chemicals, types of effects from the molecular to the ecosystem level, and detoxification processes.
• Assess toxicity in terms of LC50 and EC50, and develop dose-response curves.
• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of various toxicity testing methods.
• Understand the scientific basis for and limitations of water quality standards.

*Reduced tuition is available for Native American tribes, government employees, nonprofits, students and AFS, NAEP, NEBC, TAEP members.

You may register online or by calling the Northwest Environmental Training Center at (425) 270-3274. Online registration is strongly encouraged.

Please wait to receive a course confirmation email, roughly one month prior to the class, before making any travel arrangements.