Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Radon Contamination Of Residences In A City Built Upon A Karst Landscape Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky, James William Webster

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 8 to 12% of U.S. homes have radon concentrations that equal or exceed 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). A statewide screening of Kentucky by EPA resulted in an average residential radon concentration of 2.8 pCi/l with 17% of the homes at or above 4 pCi/l. EPA requires routine monitoring and maintenance or worker health records in mines and caves having radon daughter concentrations at or above 0.30 working levels (WL).

Bowling Green is a city located in a karst region of south central Kentucky. Residents of Bowling Green have been subjected …

Part I: Oxidation Of Heavy Metal Sulfides In Relation To The Environment; Part Ii: Fundamental Theory & Experiments Concerning Gas Chromatography & Mass Spectrometry, Judith Morgan

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Oxidation of heavy metal sulfides is a thermodynamically spontaneous process. Because of this, metal sulfides in the presence of oxygen are not stable. Currently there are over 100 streams and rivers, within the U.S., contaminated with heavy metal mine drainage; therefore an approved method of restoration is necessary. Precipitation of heavy metals as sulfides using H₂S as a reductant has been favorably reviewed as a restorative technique to clean up mining areas. However, using this technique on the laboratory scale does not prove to be a viable answer and shows strong pH dependence.

In the past three years …

Reductive Chemistry Of Dicyanoalkane Reactive Intermediates, Beshakeh Fonkeng

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Radical ions are reactive intermediates that are both radicals and ions (either a radical cation or a radical anion). The intrinsic properties of radical ions are not yet well -characterized. Such knowledge is mechanistically important to the organic chemist.

The specific question that motivates this research is as follows: is it possible to controllably express free radical processes in a radical ion independent of ionic chemistry (and vice versa) and, if so, what factors dictate which type of chemistry is expressed?

Our investigation focused on the chemistry of radical anions of dicyanoalkanes that are formed upon metal reduction. Factors influencing …

Factors Affecting Wood Fuel Consumption And Environmental Impacts In Warren County, Kentucky, Barry Vann

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify factors that contribute to wood fuel consumption as a space heating source and estimate a county-wide proportion for wood fuel consuming households. In addition, environmental problems associated with deforestation such as erosion and loss of wildlife habitat are delineated; moreover, air pollution resulting from wood fuel emissions are discussed.

An exhaustive literature review provided the basis for the study. Data on Warren County wood fuel consumption patterns were derived from a mail survey. Proportion estimates were tested by using a classical two-tail test of hypothesis. Subsequently, factors were identified and used in …

Software Metrics For Object-Oriented Software, John Coppick

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Within this thesis the application of software complexity metrics in the object-oriented paradigm is examined. Several factors which may affect the complexity of software objects are identified and discussed. The specific applications of Maurice Halstead’s Software Science and Thomas McCabe’s cyclomatic-complexity metric are discussed in detail.

The goals here are to identify methods for applying existing software metrics to objects and to provide a basis of analysis for future studies of the measurement and control of software complexity in the object-oriented paradigm of software development.

Halstead’s length, vocabulary, volume, program levels and effort metrics are defined for objects. A limit …

Measuring Δh Using Dsc, Tga & Dta, Roland Hoffman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to obtain greater accuracy in the measurement of the heat of reaction by combining data from various thermal analysis techniques. Conventional equations that calculate heat of reaction are limited because they do not take in to account mass change. Therefore, an enhanced equation was developed to integrate mass (weight) change to provide greater accuracy. The path chosen to implement this new equation employed simultaneous Thermogravimetric / Differential Thermal Analysis (TG/DTA) that could provide both ΔT and weight data simultaneously. Computer programs were written in C and Pascal languages to provide communication capabilities between computers …

A “Drastic” Evaluation Of The Ground-Water Pollution Potential Of Karst Terrain: Lost River Ground-Water Basin, Warren County, Kentucky, David Baize

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Karst terrains, such as the Lost River Karst Ground-Water Basin, are extremely vulnerable to ground-water contamination. Seven physical factors: depth to water, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity, are evaluated using the DRASTIC system to determine the ground-water pollution potential of the study area. A numerical value is calculated for each of the seven factors, and a map layer for each factor is produced. These layers are then “added” together to produce a DRASTIC ground-water pollution potential map. The effectiveness of each factor in evaluating the pollution potential of karst terrain is …