Information on Triad training classes and associated presentation materials are available via this section.
- FRTR Presents...Advancing Remediation: Lessons Learned and Innovative Approaches at Federal Facilities – Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable (FRTR)
November 17, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
The Fall 2025 FRTR Meeting will offer a unique opportunity for federal cleanup program managers and other remediation community representatives to:- Identify and discuss priority cleanup issues,
- Share lessons learned, and
- Form collaborative working groups to pursue subjects of mutual interest.
This virtual session will feature two presentations from DOE National Laboratories:- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL): Leveraging Advanced Geophysics and Machine Learning to Support Soil and Groundwater Remediation at the Hanford Site
- Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL): Bioremediation of Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds: DOE Experiences and Lessons Learned
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC: Microplastics – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
November 13, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
In response to one of the biggest emerging environmental concerns, ITRC formed the Microplastics Team in 2021 to develop the Microplastics Guidance Document. Plastics have become pervasive in modern life and are now used in a wide range of commercial and industrial applications. Microplastics may result from the degradation and fragmentation of larger plastics, or they may be intentionally produced for specific applications and products. Regardless of their origin, microplastics are now ubiquitous in our environment. Because of their small size and pervasiveness in the environment, microplastics, along with any other contaminants which are adhered to the microplastics, may be inadvertently consumed by humans and other organisms.
The online ITRC Guidance Document is geared toward an audience with reasonable level of scientific understanding, but not microplastic-specific knowledge. The guidance provides a user with information on microplastics and the state of the applied science without having to go to the scientific literature.
The target audience for the guidance and this training course includes state regulators and environmental consultants, as well as community and tribal stakeholders.
The guidance and this associated training course uses a conceptual site model to navigate microplastics in the environment and explore the following general areas:- An introduction to microplastics, their sources, and worldwide distribution
- The pathways through which microplastics can enter and travel in the environment and their distribution in various media (water, soil, sediment, air, and biota)
- A current look at the most common techniques and best practices for sampling and analyzing microplastics
- Potential human health and ecological risks associated with microplastics in the environment
- An overview of existing regulations related to microplastics and macroplastics at the state, federal, and international levels
- Examples of prevention and mitigation strategies and best management practices to reduce microplastics from entering the environment and the emerging technologies to abate, treat, and remediate microplastics once they exist in the environment
- Identification of data gaps and the need for further research
- Several case studies illustrating a range of current microplastics-related topics
Prior to attending the training class, participants are encouraged to view the associated ITRC Microplastics Guidance Document.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Training – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
November 18, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
In 2023, ITRC published the Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Guidance to supplement the 2014 Contaminated Sediments Remediation Guidance with the goal of improving consistency in sediment cap performance outcomes. Sediment capping is a commonly selected remediation approach and numerous designs have been completed. Previous cap designs have been evaluated in multiple ways, and these varying approaches have led to some differences in selection of chemical design criteria, construction tolerance specifications, and monitoring/maintenance objectives for sites with similar characteristics and contaminants, leading to different expectations for long-term performance and reliability.
The ITRC Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Guidance provides a framework for the design, construction, and long-term monitoring of the chemical isolation function of sediment caps. The framework consists of an iterative design process informed by site-specific data that balances achievement of chemical design criteria, physical design constraints, constructability and permitting requirements. In addition, the guidance summarizes key construction considerations and presents a recommended approach for monitoring and evaluating long-term chemical isolation performance. The recommended framework presented in the Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Guidance is illustrated below.
The Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Training will cover several key elements of the recommended framework, including:
- A capping overview that summarizes objectives of capping, role of the chemical isolation layer, and generic cap types and compositions.
- A discussion of performance objectives and design concepts that includes the selection of chemical isolation performance targets criteria and development of design criteria while considering the site setting and conceptual site model elements.
- An overview of chemical isolation layer modeling tools and discussion of their applicability to support chemical isolation design, important model input parameters, and the impact of uncertainty and sensitivity of modeling results.
- A summary of chemical isolation construction considerations, including an overview of available construction methods and tolerances and quality assurance and quality control measures.
- A discussion of cap performance monitoring and maintenance objectives and approaches that include developing monitoring objectives to assess chemical isolation performance and methods for guiding long-term maintenance decisions.
We encourage participants to review the ITRC Sediment Cap Chemical Isolation Guidance (SD-1) before and after the training to become familiar with the topics and recommendations discussed during the training. This training is intended for all environmental professionals working in the field of sediment capping projects, including regulators and other government agency staff, consultants, project stakeholders, and industry.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC Biological Contaminants of Emerging Concern (BioCEC) Overview – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
November 20, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
The ITRC Biological Contaminant of Emerging Concern Guidance (published October 2025) is a tool to educate state regulators on processes and resources available to address emerging biological health risks in the environment. This training will provide an overview of the components of the guidance — process guide, conceptual exposure models, key variables for assessment, analytical methods for characterization, and a monitoring program inventory.
A Biological Contaminant of Emerging Concern (BioCEC) is defined as "a microbial pathogenic agent that may pose newly identified risks to humans through the environment and found in a vector, water, soil, waste, or air." "New identified risks" are informed by novel pathogens (hazard), their expanded prevalence (fate/transport), and/or new transmission pathways (exposure).
Novel and emerging biological contaminants are an area of great importance to the states as demonstrated by the notable challenges public health agencies have faced in recent decades when waste streams are diverted or insufficiently managed. A major challenge in public health is managing and reducing the risk associated with the transmission of harmful microorganisms (pathogens) and their resulting infectious diseases. Anthropogenic impacts on environmental systems can create niches for pathogens to survive and transport pathways for them to spread and cause disease outbreak.
The ITRC BioCEC guidance (published October 2025) brings attention to the nexus of environmental and public health investigations and highlights available resources and practices to monitor and manage an emerging environmental pathogen.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC: Pump & Treat Optimization – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
December 4, 2025, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
ITRC's Pump & Treat (P&T) Optimization training aims to summarize existing information and best practices while also developing a systemic and adaptive optimization framework specifically for P&T well-network design and management. P&T systems have been one of the most commonly used methods for hydraulic containment and treatment of contaminated groundwater at sites with large groundwater plumes. This method cleans up groundwater contaminated with dissolved chemicals by pumping groundwater from wells to an above-ground treatment system that removes the contaminants. Optimization of P&T remedies is important for maintaining contaminant removal effectiveness throughout the operation lifetime and managing the system toward an exit strategy. A strategy for routine optimization of P&T remedies is key for maintaining the contaminant removal efficiency of these systems.
The primary audience for this training is environmental project decision-makers, which may include federal, state, tribal, and various local agency employees; contractors to these agencies; and potentially liable parties and their engineers and consultants as well as involved stakeholders. Generally, those involved in designing, building and operating, and optimizing pump & treat systems would benefit.
The goal of the training is to provide a roadmap for optimizing a P&T system and refining the remedial strategy or shifting toward another remedial approach. Pump & Treat optimization should be systematic and data-based, and the training and document aim to provide tools and direction to assist in this rigorous process.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding the P&T project lifecycle: evaluation, optimization, and transition, as well as considerations for sustainability, resiliency, and regulatory and stakeholder entities.
- P&T optimization should incorporate adaptive site management.
- P&T systems are influenced by a diverse collection of outside factors, which should be considered throughout the entire optimization process.
- Transition and termination should both be considered during the optimization process.
- Remedial objectives dictate evaluation and optimization efforts for P&T systems..
Prior to attending the training class, participants are encouraged to view the associated ITRC Pump & Treat guidance document
.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC: Introduction to Hydrocarbons – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
January 13, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
Petroleum is a complex mixture of many compounds. Regulatory and technical guidance documents commonly focus on the hydrocarbon components of that mixture, or perceived risks that they present. However, focusing on a specific area of concern often causes practitioners to overlook other aspects of a release. For example, concerns related to exposure to total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) risks may be overlooked while pursuing concerns related to light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) recovery or petroleum vapor intrusion (PVI).
This class is designed to provide a basic overview of hydrocarbon behavior in the subsurface and how to scientifically assess concerns arising from the release of petroleum products into the environment. It will highlight key issues that help identify and manage TPH, LNAPL, and PVI risks together. Key concepts will include: - Fundamentals of petroleum hydrocarbons
- Petroleum chemistry
- How TPH, LNAPL, and PVI are related
- Building an integrated conceptual site model (CSM)
- What is a CSM…what is its purpose?
- When is a CSM complete?
- Identifying and managing the risks from petroleum hydrocarbons
- Defining LNAPL risks based on acute, saturation, composition, or aesthetic concerns
- Emphasize the importance of biodegradation in risk management decision making
- How to select remedial goals and remedies that align with your goals
This course is based upon three separate Guidance Documents developed by ITRC that address the course content in detail:
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC: Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
January 15, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
The ITRC Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR-1) Training is intended for state regulators and stakeholders who may not be familiar with the opportunities and challenges associated with MAR. It provides a basic understanding of MAR concepts, along with case studies, that showcase examples of successful MAR applications. For those who are familiar with MAR, the training gives an overview of the components of the MAR process along with the important considerations associated with each component necessary for the design and implementation of a MAR project. It is important to understand that MAR is an area of active research and expanding practical applications, and that this management process is continuing to evolve with time.The combination of climate change and growing demand for fresh water has resulted in an increase in the vulnerability and scarcity of freshwater supplies around the world. The need for fresh water to grow crops and provide for the welfare of the general population, economic growth, and ecosystems is becoming more acute. In the past 50 years, the amount of water withdrawn for human use has tripled. MAR is becoming an increasingly important method for improving and supplementing subsurface freshwater storage and ecosystems with an additional benefit of reducing flood risk, managing stormwater, mitigating subsidence, and controlling saltwater intrusion.
Training Objectives
- Understand MAR and its applications.
- Recognize MAR as a process rather than a single technology.
- Acknowledge that MAR can be widely applied.
- Understand MAR's role in the future for addressing water supply resilience and climate impacts.
Training Goals
- Provide a model of the MAR process illustrating the primary components and their interaction.
- Provide an overview of the applications of MAR and the role in addressing climate change impacts through sustainability and resilience in water resources management.
- Provide information on each component of MAR and the critical considerations for each component in the design of a MAR project.
- Reference case studies illustrating the various applications of MAR.
After the MAR Training, the audience will have the tools necessary to understand MAR and how it can be used as a water resource management tool that encompasses a wide variety of water sources, recharge methods, and storage management practices. The audience will develop an understanding of MAR and its importance in achieving sustainability, resilience, and the far-reaching benefits of MAR related to water supply and quality, mitigation of saltwater intrusion, flood control, and ecological habitats. This training will provide information about the components of a MAR project to help regulators, practitioners, and stakeholders in the development and review of a MAR project.
Recommended Reading: Participants are strongly encouraged to review the ITRC Managed Aquifer Recharge document prior to participating in the training class.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC: Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Identification Framework – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
January 22, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT, 18:00-20:00 GMT
In 2023, the ITRC Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Framework was published to help environmental regulatory agencies and other stakeholders identify, evaluate, and manage CEC's while acknowledging uncertainties in their environmental fate and transport, receptor exposure, and/or toxicity. Such an approach can be conducive to improved allocation of regulatory response resources and provide a foundation for communicating potential risk to stakeholders. The ITRC framework is comprised of a white paper and four associated fact sheets. In the white paper, CEC are defined as: "substances and microorganisms including physical, chemical, biological, or radiological materials known or anticipated in the environment, that may pose newly identified risks to human health or the environment." The framework is meant to help environmental regulatory agencies and other stakeholders by providing examples of CEC monitoring programs and guiding the user through the process of identifying CEC key characteristics, how to communicate real and perceived risk from CEC to the public, and how laboratory analytical methods can be used in the identification process.
The ITRC CEC training presents this entirely new framework for identification, prioritization, and communication of CEC. This course includes the following topics:
- An overview of the framework, how and why it was developed, the factors that influence the creation of CEC management units at the state level, and a listing of existing CEC monitoring programs.
- A discussion of key variables that may be used as criteria to identify and prioritize CEC for response actions. This portion of the course includes a case study that illustrates how the identification and prioritization process works with an "unknown" chemical CEC.
- Practices and methods for stakeholder messaging and how to share incomplete information on CEC that could impact human health and the environment. This portion of the short course builds upon the ITRC Risk Communication Toolkit by providing additional detail addresses communications plans, message maps, and audience identification.
- A paradigm for how laboratory methods can be used to identify CEC ranging from:
- "Is compound X in the sample and at what concentration?" (i.e., known knowns) to
- "Which compounds from the list are in this sample?" (i.e., known unknowns) to
- "What is in the sample?" (i.e., unknown unknowns).
CEC are typically compounds or substances whose occurrence or effect is unknown but may or may not be understood through similar compounds or substances. This module includes a discussion of the use of targeted and untargeted analysis to identify a CEC.
Participants will learn the elements of the CEC framework and gain an understanding of the framework application from case studies. Participants are encouraged to review the ITRC CEC Framework prior to the class.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- ITRC: PFAS Chemistry Explained – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
January 27, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) is presenting a training on the basics of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemistry. This training supplements the ITRC PFAS Introductory training and ITRC Beyond the Basics Training sessions. You can find ITRC PFAS training resources online at https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/pfas-training/.
PFAS are an emerging group of contaminants that present unique challenges in many areas including: widespread use and presence in the environment, sampling and analysis, fate and transport, and remedial approaches. This training session will provide PFAS practitioners with an understanding of the unique aspects of PFAS chemistry that guide fate and transport, treatment, regulations, and decision-making on PFAS sites.
Key focus areas of the training include the following:- Why are PFAS different from other organic chemicals?
- How are PFAS defined?
- How are PFAS manufactured and why does that matter?
- What are the differences between perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances?
- What are the naming conventions used for the different types of PFAS?
- How are short-chain and long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) defined?
- What are precursors and why are they important?
- What are some of the unique chemical properties of PFAS and why do they matter?
Resources and further details included in this training are in the ITRC Guidance Document (PFAS-1).
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
- Vapor Intrusion Mitigation (VIM-1) - A Two Part Series: Session 1 – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
February 24, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST, 18:00-20:00 GMT
ITRC's Vapor Intrusion Mitigation training is a series of eight (8) modules, presented over two sessions. If you took the ITRC VIM series previously, the content has stayed the same, but the new course directs people to the Vapor Intrusion (VI) Toolkit resources published in January 2026 by ITRC.
The Vapor Intrusion Mitigation training series provides an overview of VIM and presents information from the 2026 ITRC VI Toolkit (which includes fact sheets, technology information sheets, and checklists) (to be published in January 2026).
- Session 1:
- Introduction & Overview of Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Training Team
- Conceptual Site Models for Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
- Community Engagement During Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
- Rapid Response & Ventilation for Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
- Remediation & Institutional Controls
We encourage you to use the ITRC VI Toolkit (coming January 2026) and these training modules to learn about VI mitigation and how you can apply these best practices to improve decision-making at your sites. For regulators and other government agency staff, this understanding of VI mitigation can be incorporated into your own programs.
While the training makes every effort to keep the information accessible to a wide audience, it is assumed that the participants will have some basic technical understanding of chemistry, environmental sciences, and risk assessment. As with other emerging contaminants, our understanding of VI mitigation continues to advance. This training provides the participants with information on areas where the science is evolving and where uncertainty persists.
Vapor Intrusion Mitigation (VIM-1) - A Two Part Series: Session 2 – Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council
March 17, 2026, 1:00PM-3:00PM EDT, 17:00-19:00 GMT
ITRC's Vapor Intrusion Mitigation training is a series of eight (8) modules, presented over two sessions. If you took the ITRC VIM series previously, the content has stayed the same, but the new course directs people to the Vapor Intrusion (VI) Toolkit resources published in January 2026 by ITRC.
The Vapor Intrusion Mitigation training series provides an overview of VIM and presents information from the 2026 ITRC VI Toolkit (which includes fact sheets, technology information sheets, and checklists) (to be published in January 2026).
- Session 1:
- Introduction & Overview of Vapor Intrusion Mitigation Training Team
- Conceptual Site Models for Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
- Community Engagement During Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
- Rapid Response & Ventilation for Vapor Intrusion Mitigation
- Remediation & Institutional Controls
- Session 2:
- Active Mitigation Approaches
- Passive Mitigation Approaches
- System Verification, OM&M, Curtailment and Shutdown
When certain contaminants or hazardous substances are released into the soil or groundwater, they may volatilize into soil vapor. VI occurs when these vapors migrate up into overlying buildings and contaminate indoor air. The ITRC VI Toolkit combines the previous ITRC VI-related guidance documents (VI 2007, PVI 2014, VIM-1 2020), along with updates, into one comprehensive resource toolkit (including fact sheets, technology information sheets and checklists) published in January 2026.
After the Vapor Intrusion Mitigation series, you should understand:
- How to locate and utilize the relevant document, fact sheets, technology information sheets, and checklists
- The importance of a VI mitigation conceptual site model
- How community engagement for VI mitigation differs from other environmental matters
- When to implement rapid response for VI and applicable methodologies
- The differences between remediation, mitigation, and institutional controls
- Available technologies for active and passive mitigation, and design considerations for various approaches
- How/when/why different mitigation technologies are appropriate
- How to verify mitigation system success, address underperformance, and develop a plan for curtailment of a mitigation system and shutdown
We encourage you to use the ITRC VI Toolkit (coming January 2026) and these training modules to learn about VI mitigation and how you can apply these best practices to improve decision-making at your sites. For regulators and other government agency staff, this understanding of VI mitigation can be incorporated into your own programs.
While the training makes every effort to keep the information accessible to a wide audience, it is assumed that the participants will have some basic technical understanding of chemistry, environmental sciences, and risk assessment. As with other emerging contaminants, our understanding of VI mitigation continues to advance. This training provides the participants with information on areas where the science is evolving and where uncertainty persists.
http://www.clu-in.org/live/
The links below lead to Triad training materials (PowerPoint presentations, video clips, etc.) developed by members of the Triad working group.
Triad presentations and workshops are scheduled at a variety of venues over the next several months.
Is the Triad Approach Really Something New? (Presenter: Deana Crumbling, USEPA) (319 KB)