The answer is a definite yes at two sites where optimization occurred before and after the remedial design completion. At both sites, additional investigations resulted in contamination delineation and data that was used to update and refine the conceptual site models. An iterative, adaptive management approach was used to improve future remedial system effectiveness.

• At the PR-58 Nike Missile Battery and Disaster Village Training Area in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, the design of a proposed thermal remedy was optimized. The approach helped define the treatment area, allowed realistic remedial action goals to be established, and contributed to the development of more accurate cost estimates. Click here for more information.
• A series of data-driven optimization evaluations were performed at the Walker Machine Products Superfund site in Tennessee as part of optimization measures. Supplemental characterization results helped refine the conceptual site model, which avoided unnecessary treatment technologies and delivered substantial cost and schedule benefits. Click here for more information.

These sites were presented by Scott Grant (EA Science, Engineering and Technology) and Mike Perlmutter (Jacobs), respectively, at the Design and Construction Issues at Hazardous Waste Sites (DCHWS) East 2026 conference. The conference, hosted by the Philadelphia Post of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), was held in early March.