Himmelheber Publishes Chapter on Contaminated Sediments (USA)

Dave Himmelheber, Ph.D., a Geosyntec environmental engineer based in New Jersey, has published a chapter on contaminated sediments in a monograph issued by the environmental research arms of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

Dr. Himmelheber’s chapter, “In Situ Biotransformation of Contaminants in Sediments,” appears as part of Processes, Assessment and Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, released in November 2013. The full publication serves as a reference guide to help practitioners, scientists, and engineers better understand and assess contaminated sediment sites and identify and design more efficient and effective remedial approaches.

The monograph on advanced and emerging remediation technology is the sixth in a series facilitated by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). These two DoD programs harness the latest science and technology to improve environmental performance, reduce costs, and enhance and sustain mission capabilities of the U.S. Armed Services.

The monograph describes a number of important sediment processes, including sediment re-suspension, groundwater upwelling, hyporheic exchange and bioturbation, and sediment erosion and transport. It also delves into risk assessment approaches, such as bioavailability assessments to support risk management decisions, as well as contaminated sediment remedial approaches and their design.

Dr. Himmelheber was asked to contribute to the monograph due to his doctoral research into contaminant biotransformations within sediment caps. His chapter provides a detailed overview of sediment biogeochemistry and contaminant biotransformation processes for several classes of contaminants, including PCBs, PAHs, and mercury. The chapter also describes how the science of contaminant biotransformations can be applied and incorporated into several engineered remedial design scenarios for sediments. Several case studies are presented highlighting the approaches and the content builds on concepts introduced in other chapters of the monograph.

Dr. Himmelheber is an environmental engineer at Geosyntec specializing in contaminant attenuation processes in sediment and groundwater environments. He is particularly knowledgeable regarding contaminant biotransformations, aquatic biogeochemistry, and sediment remediation technologies. He is the author of multiple research papers on the impact of in situ capping on sediment biogeochemistry and contaminant attenuation processes within sediments. In addition, he leads and manages multiple field surveys that aim to characterize contaminant distribution at large-scale sites in the United States.

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Press Release, January 24, 2014