Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Approach To Bioremediation Of Contaminated Surface Soils, J. L. Sims, Ronald C. Sims, J. E. Matthews

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Biological processes, including microbial degradation, have been identified as critical mechanisms for attenuating organic contaminants during transit through the vadose zone to the groundwater. On-site soil remedial measures using biological processes can reduce or eliminate groundwater contamination, thus reducing the need for extensive groundwater monitoring and treatment requirements. On-site remedial systems that utilize the soil as the treatment system accomplish treatment by using naturally occurring microorganisms to treat the contaminants. Treatment often may be enhanced by a variety of physical/chemical methods, such as fertilization, tilling, soil Ph adjustment, moisture control, etc. The development of a bioremediation program for a specific …

Human Health Effects Assays, Ronald C. Sims, J. L. Sims, R. R. Dupont

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Environmental health risk assessments based upon animal study results, epidemiology, quantitative structure activity relationships (QSARs), dose-response relationships, risk perception, and expert systems approaches, and the evaluation of mechanisms of carcinogenesis represent the focus for 1987. The term "biological risk assessment" was discussed by Clayson¹ to describe that part of risk assessment concerned with the relevance of specific animal results to the induction of human cancer. Guidelines for health assessment of suspect developmental toxicants addressed evaluation of data from animal testing studies.² Animal toxicity data on 200 chemicals and epidemiologic data on 30 chemicals was included within a data …

Biological Transformation And Detoxification Of 7,12-Dimethylbenzanthracene In Soil, K. Park, Ronald C. Sims, W. J. Doucette, J. E. Matthews

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Biological transformation and detoxification of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anathracene (DMBA) were studied in a nonacclimated sandy loam soil. Parent 14C DMBA biodegraded extensively (62% to 20%), accompanying an increase of metabolite 14C fraction (4% to 53%). Incorporation of DMBA into non extractable soil residue ,4C increased from 12 to 17%, but the increase was not statistically significant. DMBA was transformed into several metabolic products in the soil system, including 4-hydroxy-, 5-hydroxy-, and 10-hydroxy-DMBA and 7,12-dihydro 12-methyl-7-methylene-benz(a)anthracene-12-ol. High polarity transformation products of DMBA demonstrated a negative mu tagenic response with the Ames mutagenicity assay, strain TA 100, for both low and neutral pH soils. …

Fate And Transport Of Organics In Soil: Model Predictions And Experimental Results, B. D. Symons, Ronald C. Sims, W. J. Grenney

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Laboratory batch reactors were used to generate quantitative information about the fate of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PNA) compounds in soil systems. First-order degradation rates and equilibrium partition coefficients determined in laboratory studies were used in the Vadose Zone Interactive Processes (VIP) mathematical model to predict the fate and behavior of the PNA compounds as a function of time and soil depth. Predicted model results were compared with independent laboratory soil column studies for model validation. The VIP model provided a good approximation of the degradation and transport of the seven PNA compounds evaluated after 6 months of incubation in soil. …

A Mathematical Model For The Fate Of Hazardous Substances In Soil: Model Description And Experimental Results, W. Greeney, C. Caupp, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A mathematical model (VIP) was developed and implemented for evaluating the fate of a hazardous substance in the unsaturated zone of the soil. The model simulates vadose zone processes including volatilization, degradation, adsorption/desorption, advection, and dispersion. Four physical phases in the vadose zone are considered including water, oil, soil grains, and soil-pore air (unsaturated pore space). The Vadose Zone Interactive Processes (VIP) model is appropriate for sites under RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund) categorization since site-specific soil-waste processes affecting transport of hazardous chemicals through the vadose zone are incorporated in the model. A RCRA land treatment system was chosen as the …

The Rate Of Benzo[A]Pyrene Apparent Loss In A Natural And Manure Amended Clay Loam Soil, M. P. Coover, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A study was conducted to evaluate the rate of Benzo[a]pyrene apparent loss from a previously uncontaminated agricultural clay loam soil and to determine the effect of cow manure, as organic substrate amendment, on B[a]P apparent loss. Soil microcosms were spiked with 10 μg/g B[a]P and incubated at 20°C. Triplicate sets of microcosms were periodically removed from incubation and solvent extracted. Concentrations of B[a]P in the soil were determined by HPLC analysis of the extracts. Under the conditions of this study manure was an ineffective amendment for increasing the rate of B[a]P apparent loss in the Durant clay loam soil. In …

The Effect Of Temperature On Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Persistence In An Unacclimated Agricultural Soil, M. P. Coover, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the effect of temperature on the persistence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) incubated in an unacclimated agricultural sandy loam soil. Soil microcosms were spiked with 16 priority pollutant PAHs and placed in incubation chambers at 10, 20, and 30°C. Triplicate sets of microcosms at each temperature were periodically removed from incubation over the 240 day study period and solvent extracted. Concentrations of PAHs in the soil were determined by HPLC analysis of the extracts. Substantial loss of three-ring compounds was observed at all temperatures whereas there was very little apparent loss of five …

Review And Evaluation Of Current Design And Management Practices For Land Treatment Units Receiving Petroleum Wastes, J. P. Martin, Ronald C. Sims, J. Matthews

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Land treatment is categorized in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) as one of the land disposal options for managing hazardous wastes. Land treatment relies on detoxification, degradation, and immobilization of hazardous waste constituents within the defined treatment zone to ensure protection of surface water, groundwater, and air. Under the authority of Subtitle C of RCRA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated regulations governing the treatment of hazardous wastes in land treatment units (40 CRF, Part 264, Subpart M, July, 1982).

This paper describes the land treatment practices used by petroleum waste land treatment facilities in …

The Application And Effectiveness Of Slow Sand Filtration In The United States, L. A. Slezak, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A survey of 27 slow sand filtration plants in the United States indicated that most of these plants are currently serving communities of fewer than 10 000 persons, are more than 50 years old, and are effective and inexpensive to operate. A slow sand filtration research facility in Logan, Utah, was compared with the operating plants to determine if locally available, unsieved sand achieved similar results. The 75‐m³/d research facility performed well in removing turbidity, coliform bacteria, and particles of a size representative of Giardia cysts.

Bioassays- Procedures And Results, A. F. Maciorowski, L. W. Little, L. F. Raynor, Ronald C. Sims, J. L. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Bioassay procedures to describe, evaluate, and predict the potential hazard of toxic materials to organisms and ecosystems, and the health-related aspects of polluted waters continue to receive widespread attention. Symposium proceedings and books pertinent to toxic substances management and test procedures have appeared, as have several literature reviews pertinent to specific pollutants. The proceedings of the fifth annual ASTM symposium on aquatic toxicology presented a collection of papers directed to research needs in aquatic toxicology and hazard assessment, new concepts in aquatic toxicology, biological availability and sediment toxicity, and hazard assessment and water quality criteria.¹ A state-of-the-art overview pertinent …

Bioassays- Procedures And Results, A. F. Maciorowski, L. W. Little, Ronald C. Sims, J. L. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Bioassay procedures to describe, evaluate, and predict potential hazard of toxic materials to organisms, ecosystems, and health-related aspects of polluted waters continue to receive widespread attention. However, synthesizing these diverse theoretical, methodological, and procedural entities into an integrated multidisciplinary approach to evaluate environ mental hazards of toxic substances remains difficult. Symposia proceedings pertinent to the toxic substances management in ecosystems have appeared¹ and provide an overview of major problems and emerging solutions, including chapters on new bioassay protocols development, and multiple exposure toxicity paradigms. Conclusions and recommendations resulting from a toxicity testing workshop² discussed current state-of-the-art, identified needed …