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SiaLt7 /C Biotechnical Laboratory& Consulting Services '"' INITIAL SITE CHARACTERIZATION PARAMETERS AND BIOTECHNICAL ANALYSES IN DETERMINATION OF COMPATIBILITY AND FEASIBILITY FOR ANY IN SITU OR EX SITU BIOREMEDIAL APPROACH (Routine Evaluations and Subsequent Procedures) BioLogic Biotechnical Laboratory and Consulting Services is pleased to provide this outline of a series of low-cost laboratory analyses which are customarily performed to accommodate any site investigation or routine monitoring event. These analyses can determine the potential efficacy of a desired bioremedial approach, and/or provide valuable information to support or negate RBCA (Risk-Based Corrective Action) and natural attenuation decision processes. At BioLogic, it has been our experience that every contaminated site may be a candidate for bioremediation, although, as with any environmental cleanup technology, there is no way of knowing the applicability of a method, or its potential effectiveness, without obtaining sufficient information on the site-specific environment. Even though applied bioremediation is frequently a complex environmental cleanup approach dependent on a number of interrelated physical and environ- mental site-specific conditions, all too often the issue of bioremedial compatibility is taken for granted, or ignored altogether, and therefore is not afforded similar technical considerations as alternative technologies. Accordingly, the lack of familiarity with many of the facts associated with the subject of environmental bioremediation has often resulted in inappropriate site characterizations and data collection, generally with consequences of erroneous presumptions as to bioremedial efficacy and/or a premature commitment to more costly alternative technologies. OBJECTIVES OF BIOTECHNICAL LABORATORY EVALUATIONS The primary objective of this procedural outline is to provide directional assistance to environmental practitioners, who may or may not be trained in biotechnical matters, by presenting basic laboratory support activities for obtaining necessary site-specific data in evaluating either the feasibility of a specific bioremedial approach, or the often overlooked scientific evidence required to protect decisions of RBCA, natural attenuation, and/or passive bioremediation processes. The focus of this document is to educate our clients, before they commit time and resources to a specific approach, as to the prerequisites of biotechnical considerations for applicability to a specific site (in situ or ex situ) and, subsequently, specify the funda- mental laboratory analyses that can cost-efficiently be performed to ensure bioremedial compatibility and project success. BioLogic encourages our clients to use the information provided in this document to ensure that necessary biotechnical issues are addressed when assessing the feasibility of a bioremedial approach, and in preparing workplans for client and regulatory approval. The benefits of information derived from basic baseline biotechnical evaluations is that the results can often dictate the selection of the appropriate bioremedial method from the diverse range of approaches available, without incurring the significant costs and time associated with full-scale biotreatability investigations. The performance of these evaluations, which are designed to be conducted in sequence, comes with the under- standing that there is no single test or parameter analysis whose results will provide a YES answer to pursue bioremediation; however, there are a number of single and/or multiple determinations that can give a NO answer. The benefit of such analyses is that the identification of a single restrictive parameter can immediately lead to the termination of ongoing bioremedial activities, allowing the client the opportunity to explore alternate methodologies without wasting significant time and resources on an inappropriate and/or nonfeasible bioremedial approach. The following flowchart depicts the fundamental steps involved in mak- ing sound bioremedial determinations. 1