This year the Symposium’s Resource Conservation and Resiliency (RCR) program area features three technical sessions. Each session aims to communicate findings and enhance Department of Defense (DoD) mission effectiveness through the improved management of natural and built infrastructure. The technical sessions will focus on three subjects: Installation Infrastructure Resiliency; Military Land Condition-Readiness and Wildland Fire; and Threatened, Endangered, and Invasive Species. More
In 2020, ESTCP began funding a group of projects that will demonstrate and validate environmentally sustainable methods for cleaning firefighting delivery systems in aircraft hangars or on firefighting vehicles as well as any rinsate or residue derived from the cleaning process. In this blog, six projects that were selected for funding are covered.
The Munitions Response Program Area is addressing munitions response for a wide variety of aquatic environments such as ponds, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas. Cost-effective technologies are needed to allow for rapid assessment of underwater areas in order to identify the extent and concentration of munitions and areas free from munitions in particularly shallow water areas (water depths less than 5 meters). More
SERDP and ESTCP are cosponsoring a technical challenge seeking proposals for non-thermal technologies and approaches to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in concentrated aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) without producing any harmful byproducts. More
Given the restrictions on gatherings and travel resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, I am sure it will surprise no one to hear that the 2020 SERDP and ESTCP Symposium will be held as a virtual event the week of November 30 to December 4, 2020. Since there is no travel involved in attending the Symposium this year, we plan to stretch the schedule out a little from the usual two and a half days plus short courses. More
The DoD manages over 500 installations where Public Works personnel are System Owners (SOs) of many Facility-Related Control Systems (FRCS), such as energy and water control systems, building control systems, microgrid controls, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and several other types of control systems. Though these FRCS are usually not connected to the local enterprise network, they often support critical buildings, or critical missions have a dependence on them. ESTCP invested in a project to develop a cost-effective solution to streamline and tailor Risk Management Framework (RMF) processes for FRCS. More
In 2020, SERDP began funding a group of projects investigating the relative environmental toxicity of candidate PFAS-free firefighting formulations. These projects will each study the same six (6) formulations in different environmental receptors and provide a ranking of the toxicities to assist in the selection of a new formulation for use by the DoD. A description of these new projects is provided in this blog post. More
Results from recently completed and award winning project, “Conspecific Attraction as a Management Tool for Endangered and At-risk Species on Military Lands” were just published in the Journal of Field Ornithology. More
A partnership between New York University (NYU), Manhattan College (MC), and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) intends to develop new procedures for predicting depth of burial (DoB) based on site-specific geotechnical data and fundamental physical principles. The project team is achieving this goal through the development of new experimental, analytical, and probabilistic numerical capabilities. More
SERDP and ESTCP host the Advanced Surface Engineering Technologies for a Sustainable Defense (ASETSDefense) Workshop as a space for design and sustainment engineers, industrial hygienists, program managers, and government officials to exchange information on environmentally benign alternatives for chemicals, like cadmium (Cd) and hexavalent chromium (Cr+6), commonly used in surface treatments that combat wear and corrosion. This year, ASETSDefense will be held virtually August 4 - 6, 2020. The online event will feature 11 technical sessions, networking and poster sessions, and live Q&As with speakers. More