Alternatives for Managing Complex Contaminated Groundwater Sites

Despite nearly 40 years of intensive efforts in the United States, as well as in other industrialized countries worldwide, restoration of groundwater contaminated by releases of anthropogenic chemicals to a condition al- lowing for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure remains a significant technical and institutional challenge. Recent (2004) estimates by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicate that expenditures for soil and groundwater cleanup at over 300,000 sites through 2033 may exceed $200 billion (not adjusted for inflation), and many of these sites have experienced groundwater impacts.