Across the United States, thousands of hazardous waste sites are contaminated with chemicals that prevent the underlying groundwater from meeting drinking water standards. These include Superfund sites and other facilities that handle and dispose of hazardous waste, active and inactive dry cleaners, and leaking underground storage tanks; many are at federal facilities such as military installations. While many sites have been closed over the past 30 years through cleanup programs run by the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. EPA, and other state and federal agencies, the remaining caseload is much more difficult to address because the nature of the contamination and subsurface conditions make it difficult to achieve drinking water standards in the affected groundwater. Alternatives for Managing the Nation's Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites estimates that at least 126,000 sites across the U.S. still have contaminated groundwater, and their closure is expected to cost at least $110 billion to $127 billion. About 10 percent of these sites are considered "complex," meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations. At sites where contaminant concentrations have plateaued at levels above cleanup goals despite active efforts, the report recommends evaluating whether the sites should transition to long-term management, where risks would be monitored and harmful exposures prevented, but at reduced costs.

Originally published in 1994, the first edition of Field Sampling Methods for Remedial Investigations soon became a premier resource in this field. The "Princeton Groundwater" course designated it as one of the top books on the market that addresses strategies for groundwater characterization, groundwater well installation, well completion, and groundwater sampling. This long awaited third edition provides most current and most cost-effective environmental media characterization methods and approaches supporting all aspects of remediation activities. This book integrates recommendations from over one hundred of the most current US EPA, State EPA, US Geological Survey, US Army Corps of Engineers, and National Laboratory environmental guidance and/or technical documents. This book provides guidance, examples, and/or case studies for the following subjects: Implementing the EPA’s latest Data Quality Objectives process Developing cost effective statistical & non-statistical sampling designs supporting all aspects of environmental remediation activities, and available statistical sample design software Aerial photography, surface geophysics, airborne/surface/downhole/building radiological surveys, soil gas surveying, environmental media sampling, DNAPL screening, portable X-ray fluorescence measurements Direct push groundwater sampling, well installation, well development, well purging, no-purge/low-flow/standard groundwater sampling, depth-discrete ground sampling, groundwater modeling Tracer testing, slug testing, waste container and building material sampling, pipe surveying, defining background conditions Documentation, quality control sampling, data verification/validation, data quality assessment, decontamination, health & safety, management of investigation waste A recognized expert on this subject, author Mark Byrnes provides standard operating procedures and guidance on the proper implementation of these methods, focusing on proven technologies that are acknowledged by EPA and State regulatory agencies as reputable techniques.