|
E-Mail List Café Schedule Contacts John McIntosh Peter Bijlsma Advisory Board |
|
February 14, 2012 "Bits and Bytes - The Legacy of Hazardous Waste
SRI Menlo Park Click here for map and directions Superfund is EPA's program to identify, investigate and clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the United States. In the Silicon Valley alone there are 25 Superfund sites (www.epa.gov/region9/superfund), each with a long history of soil and groundwater contamination and ongoing remedial activity. At our February café, Alana Lee and Katherine Baylor will provide an overview of the Superfund and other hazardous waste programs at EPA Region 9. From there, they will review the challenges faced with cleaning up the legacy groundwater contamination sites in Silicon Valley that resulted from the release of chlorinated solvents into the subsurface during the early days of the high-tech industry. They will also discuss an emerging exposure pathway of concern: the migration of volatile chemicals from contaminated groundwater and soil into the indoor air environment. Alana and Kathy will cover some of their experiences and research efforts on vapor intrusion assessment at sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. Alana Lee is a Project Manager for EPA Region 9’s Superfund Division for over 13 years. For the past 11 years, she has been managing several Superfund sites in Mountain View and Moffett Field, California, where regional groundwater contamination is being actively cleaned up and indoor air investigations are being conducted to evaluate the subsurface vapor intrusion pathway. Alana leads and actively participates in EPA regional and national vapor intrusion workgroups, and serves as an EPA resource to others with sites with potential vapor intrusion issues. Katherine Baylor is a hydrogeologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pacific Southwest Region in San Francisco. She provides technical support to EPA colleagues evaluating and cleaning up hazardous waste sites throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawai'i, and the Pacific Islands. In addition, she has over 20 years of experience sampling water, soil, air, and biota for environmental contaminants. Café Scientifique events are open to all free of charge. No reservations are necessary.
Sponsored by Altos Therapeutics and SRI, Café Scientifique is a place where anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology and debate science issues outside a traditional academic context. We meet monthly to discuss a variety of science topics. Feel free to forward this message to anyone you think could be interested. Join us at SRI in Menlo Park Coffee, tea and biscotti will be complimentary, provided by SRI Courtesy of Kepler's there will be a drawing for a $30 gift card for books or merchandise at Kepler's on El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Those who choose to enter the drawing will have their names added to the Kepler's mailing list. Special thanks to Kepler's for supporting Cafe Sci. Café Scientifique is a place where anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. The Café provides a forum for debating science issues outside a traditional academic context. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable - all spoken in plain English. There is no admission charge to attend our events. Building on its great success outside the United States, Café Scientifique Silicon Valley is the first such Café on the West Coast. We meet monthly to discuss a variety of science topics. |
