Bronstein, et al., reported in 2017 that the Engineering Technical Support Center (ETSC) is operated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Office of Research and Development’s (ORD) National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL), Land and Materials Management Division (LMMD) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Created in 1987, ETSC is part of the Technical Support Project (TSP), a partnership between ORD and the Office of Land and Emergency Management (formerly the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response). The TSP consists of a network of EPA Regional Forums, the Environmental Response Team, and five specialized Technical Support Centers (TSCs). ETSC is one of five ORD TSCs.
ETSC’s mission is to provide site-specific scientific and engineering technical support to Remedial Project Managers (RPMs), On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs), and other remediation personnel at contaminated sites. ETSC is primarily staffed with scientists and engineers from ORD/NRMRL/LMMD, thereby covering a broad range of skills and technical expertise. The ETSC collaborates with EPA programs and other federal agencies to deliver the latest methods, approaches, and technologies needed to characterize, remediate, and manage risk at contaminated sites. Additional assistance is provided by other ORD Laboratory or Division personnel, EPA Regional personnel, and external contractors and consultants as needed. ETSC’s combined technical expertise supplements the work performed by responsible local, EPA Regional, or national authorities, allowing them to work more quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively, while also increasing the technical experience of the remediation team.
In fiscal year 2017 (FY17), ETSC responded to 625 combined technical support requests from more than 130 sites across the 10 EPA Regions, and three international sites: China, Romania, and Vietnam. Twelve of these sites are on the 2017 Administrator’s list of Superfund sites requiring immediate and intense action:
• Allied Paper Inc. / Portage Creek / Kalamazoo River (R5);
• American Cyanamid Co. (R2);
• Anaconda Co. Smelter (R8);
• Anaconda Copper Mine (R9);
• Bonita Peak Mining District (R8);
• Des Moines TCE (R7);
• Diamond Alkali Co. (R2);
• L.A. Clarke & Son (R3);
• Mohawk Tannery (R1);
• San Jacinto Waste Pits (R6);
• Tar Creek, Ottawa County (R6); and
• West Lake Landfill and Bridgeton Landfill (R7).
In total, ETSC’s efforts directly supported 37 states, with approximately half of requests originating in California, Idaho, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Washington state. Through interdisciplinary backgrounds and expertise, ETSC staff bring creative thinking to life by applying innovative engineering research to real-world scenarios. These innovations have the potential to produce long-lasting dividends and ultimately safer, sustainable, and healthier communities. The selected projects highlighted in this report provide insight to the unique role that ETSC plays as a bridge between environmental remediation—as applied research—and innovative engineering research in ORD. Several of these requests have generated substantial results (i.e., cost savings, effective/timely remediation results, patents, etc.), while others are working toward that end.
The ETSC also organizes meetings and publishes reports on significant developments in environmental engineering in the form of Engineering Issue Papers (EIPs), peer-reviewed journal publications, technical workshops, and conference presentations and posters. In FY17, ETSC contributed to 67 dissemination products and has one member on EPA’s Superfund National Remedy Review Board (NRRB).
In FY17, the ETSC received 625 technical support requests across the 10 EPA Regions. Approximately 39 percent (245) of the technical requests fulfilled were related to directly supporting remediation efforts through technology review, remediation technology support, and feasibility studies at specific sites.
Sixty-one percent of the technical support requests involved the collection and interpretation of data with sampling, modeling, and analytical support.
Technical support requests in FY17 most widely relied upon the provision of technical advice, document reviews, engineering and prototype testing, and the development of knowledge products such as Engineering Issue Papers.
ETSC has provided long-term, continuous support to many high-priority Superfund sites, including 12 of the 21 sites on the EPA Administrator’s 2017 list of sites requiring immediate, intense action and four of the 31 sites on the EPA’s list of sites with potential for redevelopment.
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