Complexities in attributing lead contamination to specific sources in an industrial area of Philadelphia, PA.

Globally, lead (Pb) contamination is one of the top ten chemical exposure issues affecting public health. The identification of specific Pb sources provides valuable information to determine assignment of liability for site cleanup, improve sampling plans and develop remedial strategies. This paper examines Pb concentrations and Pb isotopic data from samples collected at and near the site of a Pb paint production facility with a long operating history.

Contaminant Back Diffusion from Low-Conductivity Matrices: Case Studies of Remedial Strategies.

Recalcitrant groundwater contamination is a common problem at hazardous waste sites worldwide. Groundwater contamination persists despite decades of remediation efforts at many sites because contaminants sorbed or dissolved within low-conductivity zones can back diffuse into high-conductivity zones, and therefore act as a continuing source of contamination to flowing groundwater. A review of the available literature on remediation of plume persistence due to back diffusion was conducted, and four sites were selected as case studies.

A hierarchical modeling approach for estimating national distributions of chemicals in public drinking water systems.

Water quality studies often include the analytical challenge of incorporating censored data and quantifying error of estimation. Many analytical methods exist for estimating distribution parameters when censored data are present. This paper presents a Bayesian-based hierarchical model for estimating the national distribution of the mean concentrations of chemicals occurring in U.