Following is a question Initiatives received from a reader.
Comment:	I am interested in tech transfer on ground and surface water remediation as it pertains to open-pit hard rock metal mining—removal of arsenic and heavy metals. Bill Mitchell Seattle, Washington
Response:	Through the Resource Recovery Project, the subsurface contaminants focus area is demonstrating and evaluating several pilot-scale technologies for their capability to recover marketable metals and clean water from heavy metals-contaminated water. Among the technologies that have been or will be evaluated for removing heavy metals are chemical precipitation, synthesized organic macrocylic molecules bonded to solid substrates, clathrate concentration (a chemical desalination process in which the water is mixed with small polyatomic gas molecules), chelation, ion-exchange resins attached to magnetic particles, filters made of a globular-structure resin material, and liquid-emulsion membranes. Information on these technologies can be found beginning on page 153 of the Subsurface Contaminants Focus Area Technology Summary (a Rainbow Book). Internet access to DOE’s Office of Science and Technology publications is available at http://em-50.em.doe.gov. Another source for information is the Hazardous Substances Research Centers, which provide a national program of basic and applied research, technology transfer, and training. The HSRCs are funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Energy and Defense with additional funding from academia, industry, and other state and federal agencies. The activities of the HSRCs are conducted regionally by five multiuniversity centers, each of which focuses on different aspects of hazardous substance management. Both the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain and the Western Region HSRCs conduct research projects pertaining to heavy-metals removal from soils and ground water. To find out more about these HSRCs and the other two regional centers that compose the national program, project abstracts, and HSRC publications and contacts, visit the HSRC Internet site at http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/hsrc.