Page 14 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Preface

The focus of the hazardous waste management business has switched
from litigation and site assessment to remediation. Site restoration usu-
ally proceeds through several phases and requires a concerted, multi-
disciplinary effort. Thus, remediation professionals come from a variety
of technical and educational backgrounds, including geology, hydrology,
chemistry, microbiology, meteorology, toxicology, and epidemiology as
well as chemical, mechanical, electrical, industrial, civil, and environmen-
tal engineering. Because of differences in the formal education and train-
ing of these professionals, their ability to perform or review remediation
design calculations varies considerably. For some, performing accurate
design calculations for site remediation can become a seemingly insur-
mountable task.
Most, if not all, of the books dealing with site remediation provide only
descriptive information on remedial technologies, and none, in my opinion,
provides helpful guidance on illustrations of practical design calculations.
This book covers important aspects of the major design calculations used
in the field and also provides practical and relevant working information
derived from the literature and my own hands-on experiences accumulated
from consulting and teaching in this field. This book was written to address
the current needs of practicing engineers, scientists, and legal experts who
are employed by industry, consulting companies, law firms, and regulatory
agencies in the field of soil and groundwater remediation. This book can
also serve as a textbook or a reference book for undergraduate and graduate
students who are pursuing a career in site remediation.
It has been 15 years since the release of the first edition in 1999. I appreciate
(and enjoy) the feedback that I have received from many parts of the world.
After being pushed many times, I finally have this second edition done. I
sincerely hope this book becomes a useful tool for people working in site
remediation. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome, and my
email address is jkuo@fullerton.edu.

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