Core samples taken from a zero‐valent iron permeable reactive barrier (ZVI PRB) at Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant, Nebraska, were analyzed for physical and chemical characteristics. Precipitates containing iron and sulfide were present at much higher concentrations in native aquifer materials just upgradient of the PRB than in the PRB itself. Sulfur mass balance on core solids coupled with trends in ground water sulfate concentrations indicates that the average ground water flow after 20 months of PRB operation was approximately twenty fold less than the regional ground water velocity. Transport and reaction modeling of the aquifer PRB interface suggests that, at the calculated velocity, both iron and hydrogen could diffuse upgradient against ground water flow and thereby contribute to precipitation in the native aquifer materials. The initial hydraulic conductivity (K) of the native materials is less than that of the PRB and, given the observed precipitation in the upgradient native materials, it is likely that K reduction occurred upgradient to rather than within the PRB. Although not directly implicated, guar gum used during installation of the PRB is believed to have played a role in the precipitation and flow reduction processes by enhancing microbial activity.

Adaptive sampling programs offer substantial savings in time and money when assessing hazardous waste sites. Key to some of these savings is the ability to adapt a sampling program to the real-time data generated by an adaptive sampling program. This paper presents a two-prong approach to supporting adaptive sampling programs: a specialized objectoriented database/geographical information system (SitePlanner TM) for data fusion, management, and display and combined Bayesian/geostatistical methods (PLUME) for contamination-extent estimation and sample location selection. This approach is applied in a retrospective study of a subsurface chromium plume at Sandia National Laboratories' chemical waste landfill. Retrospective analyses suggest the potential for characterization cost savings on the order of 60% through a reduction in the number of sampling programs, total number of soil boreholes, and number of samples analyzed from each borehole.

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