ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION The magnitude of the effort required for remediation of hazardous waste sites throughout the country is staggering. The number of underground storage tanks that are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) alone is estimated at between 1.8 million and 2 million, of which 25% are assumed to be leaking [1]. The costs associated with cleanup of our hazardous waste problems are even more appalling. The remediation of underground storage tanks (USTs) alone is estimated to cost $67 billion, assuming that current regulatory policies do not get any more stringent. The cost of cleaning up all hazardous waste sites could reach $1.7 trillion by the year 2020 [2]. Numbers of this magnitude will make the remediation of haz ardous wastes one of the most pressing and vital matters for the next several decades. Cost/benefit analysis will become the driving force in the environmental community; no longer will we be able to pay exorbitant prices for soil remediation, nor will we have to. The responsible party (RP) is now more educated, more cost-conscious, more aware of the available options, and much more receptive to new and innovative methods. Such will be the focus of the next generation, a move away from the “ dig and haul’’ mentality to treatment and elimination of the problem.
