Environmental Chemistry Commons^™

Inhibition Of Chromium(Iii) Oxidation Through Manganese(Iv) Oxide Passivation And Iron(Ii) Abiotic Reduction, Miranda L. Aiken, Macon J. Abernathy, Michael V. Schaefer, Ilkeun Lee, Samantha C. Ying

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Manganese (Mn) oxides are strong oxidants that are ubiquitous in soils and can oxidize redox-active metals, including chromium (Cr). In soil environments, trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) is a benign, immobile micronutrient, whereas the hexavalent Cr(VI) form is present as a highly mobile, toxic chromate oxyanion. Although many studies have characterized the capacity of Mn(III/IV) oxides to oxidize Cr(III) to toxic Cr(VI), the oxidative capacity of Mn oxides in the presence of potentially passivating soil constituents, specifically reduced soluble iron (Fe(II)aq), remains unresolved. We hypothesized that chemical processes at redox interfaces, such as diffusion-limited environments within soil aggregates, can lead to decreased …

Soil Contamination Due To Nuclear Testing, Animesh Jha

Natural Sciences Student Research Presentations

Why this topic:

• Nuclear contamination has long term effects (cdc.gov)
• Australia and the U.S. took land from indigenous peoples to conduct nuclear tests (Rapaport, Hughes)
• Give idea of whether indigenous peoples can return to their lands safely

Influence Of Physical Variability Of Highly Weathered Sedimentary Rock On Nitrate In Area 3 Of The Enigma Field Research Site At Y-12, Erin Kelly

Masters Theses

Uranium processing and waste storage in unlined waste ponds leached contaminants into the groundwater at Y-12, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, from the 1950s to 1980s. Groundwater wells near the S-3 ponds have had the highest nitrate concentrations of groundwater anywhere in the world (>10,000 mg/L). For reference, the maximum contaminant level for nitrate in drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is 10 mg/L. Since 2012, the ENIGMA (Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies) group has been characterizing, monitoring, and conducting field experiments to understand the interactions between contaminants, microbes, and the subsurface. The goals …

The Legacy Of Mining In Southwest Missouri: Past And Present Conditions Of The Tri-State Mining District, Anastasia M C Mcclanahan

MSU Graduate Theses

The historic Tri-State Mining District (TSMD) of southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and northeastern Oklahoma has a history of lead and zinc mining that extended over a hundred years. During the district’s peak production period, the TSMD was one of the world’s largest producers of lead and zinc. The mining activities in the TSMD produced economic growth that supported the local communities and were essential to the victory of the Allied Forces during World War I and World War II. Beginning in the 1920s, the mining activities in the district slowly began to cease due to depletion of metal ores and …

A Model Experiment To Investigate The Possibility Of Glyphosate Contamination In St. Kitts And Nevis, Winston Fu

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum herbicide that is used globally to combat the spread of weeds among crops. Not all countries around the world have been using the herbicide. For example, island countries such as Dominica and St. Kitts and Nevis do not use the herbicide on their crops. However, St. Kitts and Nevis imports food and other agricultural products from around the world, leading to the hypothesis that glyphosate is contaminating the soil through those imported products. The aim of this research project was to determine if glyphosate is present in the island country of St. Kitts and Nevis. A …

Properties Of New York/New Jersey Harbor Sediments, K. W. Jones, Huan Feng, E. A. Stren, U. Neuhäusler, J. Osán, N. Marinkovic, Z. Song

Huan Feng

Sediments found in waterways around the world may contain toxic compounds of anthropogeilic origin that can harm the environment and human health. As a result, it is often necessary to remove them and find disposal methods that are environmentally and economically acceptable. Here, we report on results obtained in an experimental program to characterize the nature of the sediment contamination. The objective was to gain a better understanding of the properties of the sediments to develop better methods for understanding the fate and transport of the contaminants and for improving methods for their removal from the sediments. Our investigations made …

The Effects Of Citric Acid On Ph And Nutrient Uptake In Wheatgrass (Triticum Aestivum), Cristina Tusei

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

Geochemical Fractionation, Speciation, And Bioavailability Of Heavy Metals In Stream Sediments In Aurora, Mo, Miles Pearson

MSU Graduate Theses

Stream sediments from Chat Creek in Aurora, MO, part of the former Tristate Mining District, were digested via a sequential extraction procedure modeled after the Tessier method. Prior sampling had shown elevated levels of zinc, lead, and cadmium in sediments located near former chat piles. Metals in sediments were divided into four geochemical fractions: 1) easily exchangeable, 2) carbonate-bound, 3) iron-manganese oxides-bound, and 4) organic matter-bound. The distribution of the metals within these fractions can help predict the bioavailability and speciation of said metals. The majority of metals were contained in the third and to a lesser extent the fourth …

A Complex Legacy Of Contamination In Urban Estuarine Systems, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Industrialized urban waterways have typically suffered decades of contamination, varying in source and intensity as manufacturing and transportation practices evolved. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designates locales with particularly severe contamination as Superfund sites. Among these, the Gowanus Canal and lower Passaic River in the New York/New Jersey harbor estuary illustrate a complex range of contamination types.

The 2.2 km Gowanus Canal, with sluggish circulation driven mostly by tides, accumulated fine-grained sediments (average thickness of 3 m) highly enriched in organic carbon (OC, mean 11 % but up to 49 %) derived from hydrocarbons, sewage, coal, char, and biomass, along …

Analytical Pyrolysis Principles And Applications To Environmental Science, Michael A. Kruge

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Over the past half century, analytical pyrolysis has proven itself to be an effective means for the semiquantitative characterization of complex macromolecular organic substances. It has been demonstrated that instruments such as Py-FID, Py-MS, and in particular, Py-GC/MS can provide valuable geochemical insights when applied to a wide variety of problems in environmental science. The more widespread use of analytical pyrolysis methods in the evaluation of environmental pollution is recommended, because of their relatively low cost and information-rich results.

Pyrolysis is the heating of organic substances in an inert, oxygen-free atmosphere, thereby avoiding combustion. When performed on a large scale, …

Environmental Impact Assessment Of The Missouri Mine, Christian Laursen, Waco Holve-Burk

College of Arts and Sciences Presentations

Gold mining in Idaho and other western states has left a legacy of heavy metal contamination. These metals enter the food chain via plants and water, and are toxic to living organisms. There is a need to identify and map the heavy metal contamination, and to track the fate and transport of heavy metals from one mine site to another via surface waters. Our hypothesis is that the severe contamination in the area of the Missouri Mine is not all from that site, but includes heavy metals transported in surface water from another mine to the northeast, in the Summit …

Nitrogen And Copper Doped Solar Light Active Tio2 Photocatalysts For Water Decontamination, Mike Fisher, Donal Keane, Pilar Fernandez-Ibanez, John Colreavy, Stephen Hinder, Kevin Mcguigan, Suresh Pillai

Articles

A novel class of photocatalytic coating capable of degrading bacterial and chemical contaminants in the presence of visible sunlight wavelengths was produced by depositing a stable photocatalytic TiO

2 film on the internal lumen of glass bottles via a sol–gel method. This coating was prepared in either undoped form or doped with nitrogen and/or copper to produce visible light-active TiO2 films which were annealed at 600 ◦C and were characterized by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The presence of doped and undoped TiO2 films was found to accelerate the degradation of methylene blue in the presence of natural sunlight, while …

Properties Of New York/New Jersey Harbor Sediments, K. W. Jones, Huan Feng, E. A. Stren, U. Neuhäusler, J. Osán, N. Marinkovic, Z. Song

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Sediments found in waterways around the world may contain toxic compounds of anthropogeilic origin that can harm the environment and human health. As a result, it is often necessary to remove them and find disposal methods that are environmentally and economically acceptable. Here, we report on results obtained in an experimental program to characterize the nature of the sediment contamination. The objective was to gain a better understanding of the properties of the sediments to develop better methods for understanding the fate and transport of the contaminants and for improving methods for their removal from the sediments. Our investigations made …