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Characteristics Of Airborne Dust In The Return Airways Of The Mechanized Longwall Face, Tevfik Güyagüler, Sinan Keskin

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

In this paper the results of a research study on the characterisation of airborne dust in the return airway of the mechanized longwall face at Middle Anatolian Lignite Mine, OAL are presented. Dust, temperature, moisture and air velocity measurements were carried out in the return airways of the fully mechanized longwalls. Then the analyses of results on real-time concentration data, mass concentration data, effect of moisture, heat and air velocity on dust concentration are made. It has been found that amount of dust in return airway is directly related to the face activities and to the amount of settled dust …

Gob Well Flaring: Design And Impact Analysis, Daniel J. Brunner, Karl Schultz

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

Currently, over 30 U.S. Coal Mining operations employ a system of degasification to assist in reducing the emission of methane into their mine ventilation systems. All of these mines use vertical gob wells. This is an effective gob de gasification technique for U.S. longwall coal mining operations, particularly when prime movers apply suction to the wellheads (active gas extraction). In most cases mine operators discharge gas recovered from gob wells directly to the atmosphere. This practice poses safety and environmental concerns, and wastes a potential resource. In the U.S. there are no standards for equipping actively extracted or passive gob …

Design Of Methane Drainage Systems To Reduce Mine Ventilation Requirements, Michael D. Zuber, Charles M. Boyer Ii, Denise L. Delozier

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

There are numerous proven methods to drain methane from coal seams in coal mines. These systems include vertical wells drilled ahead of mining, horizontal boreholes, gob wells, and others. However, these drainage systems are not typically applied properly to optimize gas recovery and minimize the cost of ventilation to the mine. This lack of optimization generally occurs due to the large up-front costs associated with the drainage systems and the lack of knowledge regarding the drainage technology. This results in the mine having a "reactive" response to methane drainage issues as opposed to a "pro-active" plan for handling methane drainage. …

Methane Ignitions On Roof Bolters In Underground Coal Mines, John E. Urosek, William J. Francart

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

Although not as frequent in nature as ignitions on continuous miner or longwall faces, ignitions of methane on roof bolters have caused serious injuries to underground coal miners. After reviewing the accident reports for all roof bolter ignitions from 1981 to 1998, a summary of the forty-one accidents has been developed. Of interest in the database is the ignition source, method of face ventilation, local velocity, methane liberation, size of the methane body ignited, and the duration of the flame. Three example ignitions are included.

Evaluation Of A Continuous Miner Half-Curtain Dust Control System In A South African Underground Coal Mine, Bharath K. Belle, J. J. L. Du Plessis

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

The issues of public health and safety in the mining industry have been dealt with around the world through the intervention of governments. In 1997 the South African Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) sent out a directive to reduce the dust concentration level to /m³ at the operator's position for the sampling period. The reasons for the difficulty with compliance are: long headings up to 35m, inherently high dust generation rates of coal, and the increased use of highly mechanized equipment. A project was formulated under SIMRAC auspices with the title of "Underground Mechanical Miner Environmental Control" to …

Effectiveness Of Cabs For Dust And Silica Control On Mobile Mining Equipment, Joseph J. Garcia, Ronald E. Gresh, Mary Beth Gareis, Robert A. Haney

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of cabs for controlling silica dust exposure during operation of mobile mining equipment. This study focused on bulldozers, front -end loaders and haul trucks, was conducted at surface coal mining operations and underground metal and nonmetal mining operations. Each piece of equipment tested was equipped with a cab. The vehicles sampled were from a range of manufacturers having different types of filter media and air intake configurations. The purpose of this study was to determine the reduction of dust and silica exposure that could be …

Niosh/Nci Study Of Exposure To Diesel Exhaust In Underground Mines — An Industry Perspective, Christopher J. Pritchard

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

In 1992, the National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiated a study, funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to evaluate the health effects, if any, involving underground miners exposure to diesel exhaust. An industry organization, the Methane Awareness Research Group (MARG) already in place to respond to gassy mine related issues, was redirected to work with diesel concerns. In 1995, NIOSH released a draft protocol and feasibility assessment, indicating its intent to initiate s study at 14 underground mines, some of which were operated by MARG members. After considerable debate on the study protocol, in-mine industrial hygiene …

Table Of Contents, Multiple Authors

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

No abstract provided.

Acuta Enews June 1999, Vol.28, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Winners Announced in Student Papers Contest

Conference Offers Many Choices

Dues Notices Mailed

Does It Make Sense?

Board Report

Share Your Expertise

DC at a Glance

Positions Available

Welcome New Members

Introduction: The Challenge Of Risk Communication In A Democratic Society, Richard C. Rich, Robert J. Griffin, Sharon M. Friedman

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The symposium editors review key issues concerning the relationship between risk communication and public participation.

Flight Physician - June, 1999, Civil Aviation Medical Association

Browse all Civil Aviation Medical Association Newsletters

A sixteen page newsletter of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. The newsletter provided news about civil aviation medicine and information related to the organization.

Decision Making Under Interval Probabilities, Ronald R. Yager, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

If we know the probabilities p(1),...,p(n) of different situations s1,...,sn, then we can choose a decision Ai for which the expected benefit C(i)=p(1)*c(i,1)+...+p(n)*c(i,n) takes the largest possible value, where c(i,j) denotes the benefit of decision Ai in situation sj. In many real life situations, however, we do not know the exact values of the probabilities p(j); we only know the intervals [p-(j),p+(j)] of possible values of these probabilities. In order to make decisions under such interval probabilities, we would like to generalize the notion of expected benefits to interval probabilities. In this paper, we show that natural requirements lead to …

A Report On County Road Program Finance (Fiscal Year 1997-98), Patsy Anderson, Kris Koehler

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report reflects the findings of a study of county road finance in Kentucky. Statistics contained in the report were derived from financial statements submitted by the counties to the Kentucky Department of Local Government.

Media Coverage Of Epa's Draft Dioxin Reassessment Report, Sharon M. Friedman, Megan A. Fitzpatrick, Brenda P. Egolf

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using content analysis, the authors examine the utility of news media in democratic decision making.

Recommendations For Maximizing Battery Life In Photovoltaic Systems: A Review Of The Lessons Learned, Florida Solar Energy Center, James Dunlop

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This report contains notes, observations and recommendations about the use of batteries in small stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems. The conclusions of this work are based on the results of more than a decade's worth of battery testing at the Florida Solar Energy Center and related work with Sandia National Laboratories, the PV industry and user groups. The most critical findings were the relationship between battery state-of-charge and battery life and the importance of an adequate PV array-to-load ratio.

Installing Photovoltaic Systems: A Question And Answer Guide For Solar Electric Systems, Florida Solar Energy Center, Fsec Photovoltaic Division

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This Question and Answer Guide for Solar Electric Systems addresses general considerations about photovoltaics (PV) technology and requirements for installing photovoltaic power systems, including building-integrated applications. Contained in this guide are commonly asked questions about the technology, and responses based on current state-of-the-art equipment and industry design practice.

Long Term Risks Associated With Brownfield Containments, Shailesh Shirish Chirputkar

Dissertations

The sites at which the development is hindered by real or perceived contamination are called as Brownfield sites. It is a common trend in industry to develop these types of sites with surface and peripheral containments. It might prove unwise to develop the sites in this manner from a long term perspective without considering the associated risk. Because of this, a model has been proposed for long term risk assessments of brownfield containments.

Objectives of this study were to develop a contaminant transport model for flow of contaminants towards the surface and peripheral containments inside the site, a model for …

On-Line State And Parameter Estimation In Nonlinear Systems, David A. Haessig

Dissertations

On-line, simultaneous state and parameters estimation in deterministic, nonlinear dynamic systems of known structure is the problem considered. Available methods are few and fall short of user needs in that they are difficult to apply, their applicability is restricted to limited classes of systems, and for some, conditions guaranteeing their convergence don't exist.

The new methods developed herein are placed into two categories: those that involve the use of Riccati equations, and those that do not. Two of the new methods do not use Riccati equations, and each is considered to be a different extension of Friedland' s parameter observer …

Study Of Reactive Media For Chromium Removal From Groundwater By Permeable Barriers, Hemant S. Desai

Theses

The purpose of the study was to select reduction media for application in permeable barriers for removing chromate ions from groundwater emanating from chromium refining sites in New Jersey. The high pH condition of groundwater in such sites is expected to pose limitations on the use of metallic iron (Fe⁰) as the sole reductive medium.

Reasonable reduction kinetics was achieved using iron at pH < 9.2. Several pH lowering media were investigated and were found to have either very slow or very fast dissolution kinetics, which rendered them impractical for use in passive permeable barriers. Two other media, namely: pyrite and siderite minerals have shown promising results, but fell short of achieving the required performance. Detailed investigation of interfacial processes in a batch reactor have shown that the addition of a small amount of a neutral salt can significantly improve chromate reduction kinetics, even at high pH conditions around 10.9.

The formation of passivating layers, which can slowdown the reaction significantly, was found to be important at high pH conditions. It is recommended that an injection system be used with the reactive barrier to …

Multi-Lifecycle Assessment Design Tools And Software Development, Ji Jin

Theses

This thesis introduces the concept of Multi-lifecycles and a Multi-lifecycle assessment (MLCA) methodology for evaluating the energy consumption and environmental emissions of a product. MLCA quantifies materials, energy, and environmental burdens associated with end-of-life options, as well as obtains the value of returning parts and materials back to use, through demanufacturing, reengineering and remanufacturing.

A Multi-lifecycle Assessment software is developed as a tool to implement MLCA methodologies. By this software, one can practice a full life-cycle analysis on a product, or compare the environmental impacts of different products. Detailed designs on MLCA software including the databases, user interfaces, and algorithm …

Coagulation And Disinfection By-Products Formation Potential Of Dissolved Organic Matter Fractions, Neeraj S. Pipada

Theses

Both the proposed United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Disinfectants- Disinfection By-Products and Enhanced Surface Water Treatment rules have provisions for minimizing the formation of undesirable precursors of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water Natural Organic Matter (NOM) contains many of the precursors to the DBPs formed following disinfection of drinking water. DAX-8 resin procedures were used to isolate and fractionate NOM into six dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions; Hydrophobic acid (FA), base (FB), neutral (FN), and hydrophilic acid (PA), base (PB) and neutral (PN). Aluminum sulfate (alum) jar coagulation tests were performed to determine the optimum coagulation ranges of …

Assessing The Impact Of Design For Environment Guidelines : A Case Study Of Office Telephones, Hussam Fawzi Al-Okush

Theses

This research addresses a fundamental question: How much of the improvement in a product's environmental performance is directly attributable to the Design for Environment (DFE) tools and guidelines, and how much results simply from other design objectives or enabling technologies? The research examines four generations of a business telephone over the last thirty years, including the current generation, which has been designed using DEE guidelines. A lifecycle assessment (LCA) and demanufacturing analysis were performed on each of the first three generations to determine various technology and non-DEE trends. This information was used to forecast the progression to a 1997 non-DEE …

Analysis And Modeling Of Ultrasound To Decontaminate Heavy Metals In Dredged Sediments, Ruvini Perera

Theses

Sediments contaminated with heavy metals due to past disposal practices threatens the environment and requires remediation. This research is an attempt to develop a technology to decontaminate heavy metals in the dredged sediments with an integrated set of processes using ultrasound. Acoustic cavitation caused by ultrasound energy can be used to remove chromium from the sediments. Two coupled processes were used to treat both coarse (Process#1) and fine (Process#2) fractions of the sediments. Full factorial experimental designs were carried out to evaluate the treatment technique and to statistically model and optimize the processes. The model for Process#1 had four contributing …

Development Of A Context-Specific Search Engine, An Executive Information System, And A Novel Www Ready External Cost Model, Amit V. Revankar

Theses

NJPIES is associated with Information Ecology and Sustainability, a holistic approach to environmental data collection, compilation, integration and provision that puts people, not technology, at the center of the environmental information world.

The first main goal of this project was to develop an algorithm and associated computer-based tool that could perform a lifecycle cost analysis for a model system. The application developed solved the primary problem associated with the lifecycle cost analysis of a product: it accounted for all costs (e.g., environmental costs such as ecological costs and health costs associated with emissions) of the activity. A lifecycle cost analysis …

A Signal Conditioning Approach For The Extraction Of The Oscillatory Petential From The Electroretinogram, Peter Haines Derr

Theses

The oscillatory potential (OP), a signal component of the electroretinogram (ERG), was investigated to determine correlation of the OP and pathological conditions of the inner retina. Large transients characterize the ERG. Such transients stimulate a filter's natural response. Since these responses can co-occur with the OP, a distorted OP will be extracted. A proposed signal windowing and padding technique for conditioning the ERG signal has been implemented for the extraction of a ntnimally distorted OP.

Windowing is used to capture only the OP period. The windowed ERG signal is then signal conditioned to generate initial values for the filter's state …

Membrane Process For Biological Treatment Of Contaminated Gas Streams, Sarina J. Ergas, Leslee Shumway, Mark W. Fitch, Jeffrey J. Neemann

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactor Was Investigated for Control of Air Emissions of Biodegradable Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). in the Membrane Bioreactor, Gases Containing VOCs Pass through the Lumen of Microporous Hydrophobic Hollow Fiber Membranes. Soluble Compounds Diffuse through the Membrane Pores and Partition into a VOC Degrading Biofilm. the Hollow Fiber Membranes Serve as a Support for the Microbial Population and Provide a Large Surface Area for VOC and Oxygen Mass Transfer. Experiments Were Performed to Investigate the Effects of Toluene Loading Rate, Gas Residence Time, and Liquid Phase Turbulence on Toluene Removal in a Laboratory-Scale Membrane Bioreactor. Initial …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 41 Number 1, May 1999, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - A BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS By President PaulL. Locatelli, S.J. 'Go. President Locatelli examines the value of service learning for students, the University, and America's social fabric.

12 - A GIANT ARTIST By Ann Granning Bennett. Auguste Rodin's sculptures are now on view at the de Saisset Museum. The question is: How do high-profile art shows like this one come about?

18 - ARIZONA'S DIPLOMATIC TOP COP By Tamara Straus. Janet Napolitano ' 79 , Arizona's newly elected attorney general , discusses the challenges of public office as well as politics, ethics, and fighting crime.

Acuta Enews May 1999, Vol. 28, No. 5

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Board Approves Slate of Nominees

Moderators & Monitors Needed in Nashville!

Board Report

Who Pays for Cellular Calls?

DC at a Glance

Positions Available

Welcome New Members

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Ultrasonic Enhancement Of Antibiotic Action On Escherichia Coli Biofilms: An In Vivo Model, Andrea M. Rediske, Beverly L. Roeder, Maren K. Brown, Jared L. Nelson, Rachel L. Robison, David O. Draper, G. Bruce Schaalje, Richard A. Robison, William G. Pitt

Faculty Publications

Biofilm infections are a common complication of prosthetic devices in humans. Previous in vitro research has determined that low-frequency ultrasound combined with aminoglycoside antibiotics is an effective method of killing biofilms. We report the development of an in vivo model to determine if ultrasound enhances antibiotic action. Two 24-h-old Escherichia coli (ATCC 10798) biofilms grown on polyethylene disks were implanted subcutaneously on the backs of New Zealand White female rabbits, one on each side of the spine. Low-frequency (28.48-kHz) and low-power-density (100- and 300-mW/cm2) continuous ultrasound treatment was applied for 24 h with and without systemic administration of gentamicin. The …