How do pollutants get into the groundwater? What are their sources? What kind of health risks do they pose? What technologies do we use to investigate these problems? How can we clean up the groundwater from dangerous contaminants? These are the questions we tried to address with this educational product. More information on Groundwater Pollution Video and Curriculum Guide.

The curriculum package contains a 30-minute video composed of three segments. The first segment illustrates how contamination is discovered at a site and the process by which a site becomes a "Superfund Site". The second segment explores some of the technologies used by scientists and engineers to assess the type and extent of the contamination at a site. The third and final segment introduces the most common methods and technologies available to remedy a groundwater contamination problem. Each segment of the video is accompanied by classroom activities developed for middle grades. Some activities require access to the Internet. All the activities are aligned with the Science Education National Standards. Alignment Matrixes for Grades 5-8 and 9-12 are included in the Guide.

Inquiries about the availability of the "Groundwater Pollution Curriculum Package" should be directed to: Prof. Heidi Nepf, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering MIT 48-423 Cambridge, MA 02139 hmnepf@mit.edu.