TIGSED Modeling System for Sediment Contamination
The Problem
TIG Environmental has worked with multiple clients who are involved in large Superfund sediment sites. Operations have often resulted in suspected upland contributions to receiving waters spanning many decades and, in some cases, large geographic areas. As part of the allocation and source control process, our clients need to accurately characterize their historical and ongoing contributions to sediment contamination.
The Solution
TIG Environmental employs TIGSED to determine the sediment contamination attributable to our clients’ operations. TIGSED was developed by TIG Environmental to model sediment contributions from multiple discharge locations to evaluate source identification, source control, and natural recovery. For our clients’ Superfund sediment sites, TIGSED has been used to assess sediment contamination attributable to client operations under different potential conditions, scenarios for which the historical and scientific record was uncertain, such as influence of aerial deposition on properties and the effect of different controls applied by our clients.
Value Added
TIG Environmental’s analysis determined that the contributions from our clients’ sites were minor compared to the contamination present within sediment in the Superfund sites and indicated that ongoing discharges would not result in measurable recontamination. Application of this approach during allocation resulted in one of our clients receiving a small allocation share consistent with the contribution predicted by TIGSED.
