Proceedings of the Annual International Conference on Soils: Volume 16, Issue 1
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Development of a Mobile Laboratory System for Site Characterization and Analysis of Subsurface Oil Contaminants
(2011-01-01) Ismail, Ala'a; Al-Rasheedi, Maijd; Quinn, Michael; Al-Nijadah, Ahmad
A mobile laboratory incorporating the techniques of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and cone penetration test (CPT) has been successfully developed and field-tested by members of Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR). The LIF/CPT system consists of a custom designed stainless steel probe assembly incorporating a bundle of fiber optics with low absorption in the ultraviolet range. A pulsed 266nm laser source is coupled into one of the optical fibers and is utilized for exciting fluorescence in soil targets. The excitation laser pulse carried through the fiber optics interacts with the soil through a sapphire window placed on the probe head; the emitted fluorescence is collected and channeled back to a detection system through a separate fiber. The probe is capable of reaching a potential maximum depth of 50m. Among the detection systems that have been used for the system were a single and a multi-channel array photomultiplier tube based systems. The entire lab facility is installed inside a CPT 20-ton vehicle. The mobile laboratory is referred to as the Environmental Unit for Measuring Subsurface Oil Contaminants (EUMSOC), and it has undergone an extensive series of field tests at different sites in the oil-contaminated areas of north Kuwait.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Modeling: A Tool for Federal Facility Decommissioning
(2011-01-01) Petho, Karen L; Zevitas, Christopher D; Klauber, Adam F; Cybulski, Jonathan D
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility inventory is constantly changing as newer systems supplant older infrastructure in response to technological advances. Transformational change embodied by the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) will affect the replacement of thousands of ground-based air traffic control systems with satellite-based systems by 2025. NextGen alone will drive a massive facility decommissioning effort with the potential for major environmental impacts from demolition and disposal activities, including emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), criteria pollutants, and air toxics, erosion, runoff, noise, generation of solid waste, and the migration of contamination associated with historic releases of hazardous waste, fuel constituents, and hazardous building materials. The FAA and other federal agencies need effective environmental impact assessment tools to design mitigation strategies and ensure compliance with regulatory and policy drivers, including Executive Order (EO) 13514 Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, which establishes integrated strategies towards sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the Federal Government. In this study we develop a model to facilitate the quantitative analysis of comprehensive GHG emissions inventories from demolition debris reuse, recycling, and disposal activities that accounts for scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions as defined by EO 13514. The results of the model are used to inform a trade-off analysis that compares the relative impacts of debris management alternatives. Data from the decommissioning of an air traffic control tower and an air route surveillance radar facility are used as case studies to refine and validate the model, which could be used as a tool to guide future decommissioning efforts at Federal facilities and to provide input to FAA’s agency-wide GHG emissions inventory.
Nickel Dermal Bioavailability in Pig Skin Increased by a Chemical Mixture: Role of Gender
(2011-01-01) Abdel-Rahman, Mohamed S.; Turkall, Rita M.
Exposure to chemical mixtures is more common than exposure to a single chemical. Skin is the largest tissue in the human body and is an important route of exposure to chemical mixtures. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of toluene, trichloroethylene (TCE) and phenol on the dermal bioavailability of nickel, All four compounds are prevalent in the environment, at industrial facilities, and at hazardous waste sites. An in vitro approach was employed which utilized radiotracer methodology and a modified Teflon flow-through diffusion cell system to measure the amount of chemical which penetrated through or became bound to dermatomed male or female pig skin. In males, there was almost a 2-fold increase in the total cumulative percentage of radioactivity in the receptor fluid after treatment with the mixture compared to nickel alone. In females, significantly more radioactivity (2-fold) penetrated into receptor fluid when skin was treated with the chemical mixture of nickel versus nickel alone. The chemical mixture produced a significant increase in the total penetration and the amount of nickel that became bound to skin relative to nickel alone in both sexes. Also, more radioactivity remained loosely adsorbed to skin and could be easily washed off of the skin surface when nickel was applied alone rather than in combination to male or female skin. However, the total penetration and the radioactivity in the skin matrix was significantly higher in females than in males treated with the nickel mixture. This study revealed that the bioavailability of nickel to skin is significantly higher when administered in the chemical mixture compared to nickel alone. Furthermore, females are at greater risk than males from dermal exposure to the nickel mixture.
Relationship Between Sediment Morphology and PCB Contamination in the Acushnet River, New Bedford, Massachusetts
(2011-01-01) Morris, Michael W.; Rigassio Smith, Anita; Cummings, Joshua; Walsh, Dave
The New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site in southeastern Massachusetts includes the shallow northern reaches of the Acushnet River estuary through the commercial port of New Bedford and adjacent areas of Buzzards Bay. The sediments in the harbor are contaminated with high levels of PCBs and heavy metals from the industrial development surrounding the harbor. From the 1940s through the 1970s, electrical capacitor manufacturing plants discharged PCBs into New Bedford Harbor and its estuaries. In the mid-1970s EPA sampling identified PCBs in the river and harbor sediments greater than 100,000 mg/kg. In 1979, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health prohibited fishing and shell-fishing from the river and harbor due to the high levels of PCB contamination found in the harbor and in the seafood from the area. The site was included on the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983, as one of the hottest PCB sites in the United States. In September 1998, after years of study and public debate, EPA selected a cleanup remedy that involved the dredging and containment of approximately 170 acres of PCB contaminated sediment. The principal goals of the project were the reduction in health risks from consumption of PCB-contaminated local seafood and from exposure to contaminated shoreline sediments, and the improvement of water quality in the marine ecosystem. The prescribed PCB cleanup standards for the sediment ranged from 1 mg/kg shoreline areas immediately adjacent to residential properties, up to 50 mg/kg in sediment in remote salt marshes not readily accessible to the public. Removal of sediments to achieve the cleanup standards requires mechanical or hydraulic dredging of more than 800,000 cubic yards of material. Correlation of analytical data and sediment cores shows a relationship between the presence of PCB contamination and distribution of the organic layer (OL) in the river. The relationship exists because of the nature of the contamination and its affinity for organic material. Sediment cores have been collected to refine the modeled sediment removal maps and guide target depths for dredging.