SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

Separation and Recovery Systems, an Irvine-based pollution-control company, said its technology for cleaning hazardous-waste sites has been accepted for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program. The program, the Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation program, was established to find alternative methods for cleaning the nation’s hazardous-waste sites.

The Irvine firm uses a process in which hazardous waste, particularly that containing acidic sludges, is treated on the site and then encapsulated in hardened clay.

The EPA’s acceptance of the Irvine company’s technology does not guarantee that it will receive Superfund contracts, said Joseph DeFranco, company president. But it does mean that the company will receive consideration for future contracts, he said.