Marti Otto is an environmental engineer in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Technology Innovation and Field Services Division. Ms. Otto has over 23 years of experience in hazardous waste site evaluation and remediation and in environmental regulation and policy development. She has been following the development of environmental applications of nanotechnology for about five years. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Presentation Description
Nanotechnology for Site Cleanups
The Technology Innovation and Field Services Division (TIFSD) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response has published a fact sheet on the use of nanotechnology for site remediation. (see http://clu-in.org/542F08009.). Nanotechnology is defined as the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanomeeters, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. Nano-sized particles have large surface areas relative to their volumes and may have enhanced chemical and biological reactivity.

Nanotechnology holds promise in remediating hazardous waste sites cost-effectively and in addressing challenging site conditions, such as where dense nonaqueous-phase liquids (DNAPLs) are present in contaminated aquifers. Research indicates that injecting nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) particles into areas within aquifers that are sources of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination may result in faster, more effective groundwater cleanups than traditional pump-and-treat methods.

However, there are many unanswered questions regarding nanotechnology. While NZVI is the most widely used nanoparticle in site remediation, knowledge is limited on the fate and transport of iron nanoparticles in the environment, and little research has been done on their potential toxicological effects.