Review of Recent Publications

ated with incineration to maximize its cost-cffdvezlcss as well as safety. A ncentspecialissueofHazardousWaste and Hazar&us Ma!eriah pwtm vari- ous aspacts of combustion technology cumntly Wig developed. Topics cov- eredincludewasteincinerabilityranking indices, the structun of c h l o m hy- dmcarbonflames,monitoringtechnorogy suchaslaser-basednxonaneeionization sptctroscopy, and mechanisms for con- trolling ''puf€" (unburned waste) gen- eration during kiln operation. Other ar- ticles examine factors affecting the effi- ciency of solid waste incineration and the production of trace amounts of un- desirable combustion products. Haz- m&us WasteandHazmdousMuterials, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter 1990.

It has been demonstrated that thermal remediation is useful technology for treating contaminated solids, particularly soils. The process is usually made up of two phases: primary desorption and secondaryincinerationhanotherarticle, a characterization is offered of rate con- trolling pmesses associated with the evolution of hazardous fnaterials from soils in the first pmcess phase, the pri- marydesorber environment. By exam- ining the phenomena occurring both in- side particles and within a particle bed, the authors conclude that local thermal environment and gas-phase contaminant C0ncena;itons are the most significant variables associated with contaminant desorption. A mass transfer/desorption model is proposed and tested. J. Lightly, G. Silcox, D. Pershing, V. Cundy, and D. Linz, 1990. Fundamentals for the Ther- malRemediationofContaminated Soils: Particle and Bed &sorption Models. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 750-757.

Vacuum Extraction Soil vapor extraction, also kwwn as

subsurface venting or in-sinc air strip ping, has proven to be effective in the treatment of soils contaminated with volatile organic chemicals. A recent ar- ticle describes the basics of this tech- nology, includingtheengineeringdesign, operational parameters, and environ- mentalconditionsthat mustbeconsidered to mediate a contaminated site suc- cessfully. Again. the authoIs point out that the vacuum extraction system may be used in conjunction with other tech- nologieslikegtoundwaterextractionand bioremediation, to provide a cost-effec- tive approach for the cleanup of petro- leum and solvent spills. N. Hutzler, J. Gierke, and B. Murphy, 1990. Vaporiz- ing VOCs. Civil Engineering, Vol. 60, NO. 4, pp. 57-60.

BOOK REVIEW

Petroleum Contaminated Soils: Remediation Techniques, Environ- mental Fate, and Risk Assessment, Volume I, edited by P. Kostecki and E. Calabrese. Lewis Publishers, Inc., 1989, 357 pages.

As a result of the large-scaIe produc- tion, transportation, storage, and use of petioleurn products, petroleum-con- taminated soils have emerged as a major environmental problem. As public con- cern and scientific understanding have grown, it has become clear that the pmb- lem is multidisciplinary in nature and must be addressed in terms of the scien- tific biogeochemical processes involved, theenvironmentalandhealtheffectsthat result, the governmental regulations that apply, and the advanced engineering

RemediatiodVoI. 1, No. UWinter 199041 105

Catberinc A. Fox

whnologies~redforpropercleanup. This issue is addressed in the proceed- ings of the Second National Conference on the Environmental and Public Health Efects qf So& ContMtinated with Pe- rrdewn Products, which took place at the University of Massachusetts in Sep- tember 1987. The forum enabled &en- tists and engineers from regulatory agencies and private industq to p m n t new informarion, to exchange ideas, and to focus and refine the nature of problems asmciatedwithpetmleum-contamhated soils.

part I of the book begins with an attempttoclarify the s c i d c . economic, and regulatory dilemmasthatexist Vari- ous perspectives are offered from the petroleum industry (API) (Qlapter l), state regulatory agencies from Califor- nia (Chapter 2) and New Jersey (Chapter 4), the electric utilities industry (EEI) (Chapter 3). and the federal government (EPNOffice of Underground Storage Tanks) (chapter 5). The second part of the book explores

scientific aspects of environmental fate and transport of petroleum in soils. Chapters 6 and 7 examine petroleum movement and retention characteristics using empirical as well as modeling ap pmaches.Thissectionalsodescribesthe usefblness of the Polychzorinated Bi- phenyl Onsite Spill Model (POSSM) (Chapter 8) and the application ofbehav- ior modeling to regulatory programs (chapter 9).

Decision makers must enter the planningstageofcleanupoperations well informed of the types of remedial tech- nologies available and their overall cost- effectiveness. Part III provides informa- tion on many in-situ and off-site reme- dial technologies that are currently

available, or wil l be soon Two inkzest- ing overviews axe pnsented (chapters 10 and 18) in addition to practice meth- 'odologies such as stabilization (Chapter 11). vitrification (Chapter 12), soil washing (Chapter 13), land treatment (Qzapter 14). asphalt M g (Chapter 19, incorporation into bituminous con- crete (Chapter 16). and low-temperature strippins (Qlapter 17). Risk assessment has become in-

creasingly important in the waste treat- ment arena. In Part IV, risk assessmeM theory (Chapter 19) and methodology (Chapter 20) are presented, along with a review of current models (Chapter 21 ) and their application in two health haz- ard assessments (Chapters 22 and 23). The book ends with a demonstration of the utility of risk aseS!xment mod& in the development of soil cleanup guide- lines for a state agency. The usefulness of Petroleum Con-

taminatCd Sofls to decision makers is evident in the wide range of topics pre- sented. Petroleum contamination of soils and subsequent cleanup will continue to be a major problem in the future. This coUectionofinsightsfromleadingexperts in the field provides an excellent review of the status and future direction of the management of this widespread envi- ronmental problem.

Environmental Biotechnology: Re- ducing Risks from Environmental Chemicals through Biotechnotogy, editedbyG.Omenn.PlenumPnss, 1988, 505 pages.

The utilization of genetically engi- neered microorganisms (GEM) to transform hazardous organic wastes is no longer a researcher's dream; it is now

106 RemcdiationNol. 1, No. Winter 1990/91