EPA’S Federal Technology Transfer Act Program

In 1986, the Federal Technology Transfer Act (FTTA) was established to promote a closer, collaborative relationship between federal government agencies and the private sector. With the increasing need for new cost-effective technologies to prevent and control pollution, both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and private industry are encouraged to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology under this Act. The FTTA removed several of the legal and institutional barriers to cooperative research that existed before the Act's passage. Through the FTTA, the government strives to promote the movement of its products, processes, skills and knowledge into the private sector for further development and commercialization by encouraging the exchange of technical personnel and the sharing of facilities and other resources. Collaborative efforts among industry, federal agencies and academia are made possible through cooperative research and development agreements (CRDAs). Thirty-three CRDAs and four licensing agreements have been initiated with EPA under the program. This paper provides an overview of this new and innovative program.     

Epilithic Lichen—Atmospheric Deposition Monitors of Trace Elements and Organohalogens?

ABSTRACT

Epilithic lichen (Xanthoria elegans in Canada, Lecanora muralis in Germany) were gathered from 17 locations in Ontario, Canada (from Lake Ontario to James Bay) and 43 locations in Germany (from the Alps to the North Sea and from the Baltic Sea to the Erzgebirge). Sample aliquots were digested in nitric acid and trace elements were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrom-etry techniques. The organohalogens were determined as absorbable organic halogens (AOXs) by coulometry. Concentration ranges from Germany for trace element samples and AOXs were determined. The lichen showed high spatial resolution in their element enrichment patterns. This allowed for differentiation between natural and anthropogenic dominance in ambient air concentrations. This biomonitoring method has proven to be very sensitive, fast, and reliable. No clear relationship could be found between trace element and AOX concentrations. The AOX values may reflect individual metabolic rates of the fungal partner in lichen symbionts.     

Direct comparison of 210Po, 234Th and POC particle-size distributions and export fluxes at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site

Particle-reactive, naturally occurring radionuclides are useful tracers of the sinking flux of organic matter from the surface to the deep ocean. Since the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) began in 1987, the disequilibrium between ²³⁴Th and its parent ²³⁸U has become widely used as a technique to measure particle export fluxes from surface ocean waters. Another radionuclide pair, ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb, can be used for the same purpose but has not been as widely adopted due to difficulty with accurately constraining the ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb radiochemical balance in the ocean and because of the more time-consuming radiochemical procedures. Direct comparison of particle flux estimated in different ocean regions using these short-lived radionuclides is important in evaluating their utility and accuracy as tracers of particle flux. In this paper, we present paired ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U and ²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb data from oligotrophic surface waters of the subtropical Northwest Atlantic and discuss their advantages and limitations. Vertical profiles of total and particle size-fractionated ²¹⁰Po and ²³⁴Th activities, together with particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations, were measured during three seasons at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site. Both ²¹⁰Po and ²³⁴Th reasonably predict sinking POC flux caught in sediment traps, and each tracer provides unique information about the magnitude and efficiency of the ocean's biological pump.     

Sustainable Use of Biotechnology for Bioenergy Feedstocks

Done correctly, cellulosic bioenergy should be both environmentally and economically beneficial. Carbon sequestration and decreased fossil fuel use are both worthy goals in developing next-generation biofuels. We believe that biotechnology will be needed to significantly improve yield and digestibility of dedicated perennial herbaceous biomass feedstocks, such as switchgrass and Miscanthus, which are native to the US and China, respectively. This Forum discusses the sustainability of herbaceous feedstocks relative to the regulation of biotechnology with regards to likely genetically engineered traits. The Forum focuses on two prominent countries wishing to develop their bioeconomies: the US and China. These two countries also share a political desire and regulatory frameworks to enable the commercialization and wide release of transgenic feedstocks with appropriate and safe new genetics. In recent years, regulators in both countries perform regular inspections of transgenic field releases and seriously consider compliance issues, even though the US framework is considered to be more mature and stringent. Transgene flow continues to be a pertinent environmental and regulatory issue with regards to transgenic plants. This concern is largely driven by consumer issues and ecological uncertainties. Regulators are concerned about large-scale releases of transgenic crops that have sexually compatible crops or wild relatives that can stably harbor transgenes via hybridization and introgression. Therefore, prior to the commercialization or extensive field testing of transgenic bioenergy feedstocks, we recommend that mechanisms that ensure biocontainment of transgenes be instituted, especially for perennial grasses. A cautionary case study will be presented in which a plant’s biology and ecology conspired against regulatory constraints in a non-biomass crop perennial grass (creeping bentgrass, Agrostis stolonifera), in which biocontainment was not attained. Appropriate technologies that could be applied to perennial grass feedstocks for biocontainment are discussed.     

Bioremediation of TCE in a fractured limestone aquifer using a novel horizontal passive biobarrier

This article discusses a project demonstrating the successful use of a novel horizontal biobarrier approach to protect a fractured limestone aquifer from continuing contamination while passive bioremediation of the overlying clay till source area is in progress. The emplacement of the biobarrier has significantly reduced the concentrations of chlorinated ethenes and dechlorination activity in the limestone aquifer, promoting complete reductive dechlorination of the trichloroethene plume. The biobarrier strategy has thus met the challenge of protecting the limestone from the overlying overburden. Direct GeoProbe injections performed in the source area, which consist of a clay till overburden, have also reduced the contaminant concentrations in the clay till due to enhanced dechlorination activity; however, repeat injections may be required to address the areas of the till in which the injectate has not yet been distributed. The time frame for remediating the source area in the till is expected to be on the order of a decade. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Twenty years of elemental analysis of marine biota within the German Environmental Specimen Bank—a thorough look at the data

Purpose  

As one component of the German ecological environment observation, the Environmental Specimen Bank program was initiated in the mid-1980s. Under the program, representative specimens of marine, fresh water, and terrestrial ecosystems are sampled regularly and archived under chemically stable conditions. An initial characterization of the samples provides data regarding the status quo of the respective ecosystems. The aim of the present publication is to give insight into these real-time monitoring data, which have been generated for the last 10 to 20 years. This is done exemplarily for the heavy metals cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in marine specimens of the Baltic and the North Sea.     

Pelleted organo-mineral fertilisers from composted pig slurry solids, animal wastes and spent mushroom compost for amenity grasslands

In Ireland, conversion of biodegradable farm wastes such as pig manure spent mushroom compost and poultry litter wastes to pelletised fertilisers is a desirable option for farmers. In this paper, results obtained from the composting of pig waste solids (20% w/w) blended with other locally available biodegradable wastes comprising poultry litter (26% w/w), spent mushroom compost (26% w/w), cocoa husks (18% w/w) and moistened shredded paper (10% w/w) are presented. The resulting 6-mo old 'mature' composts had a nutrient content of 2.3% total N, 1.6% P and 3.1% K, too 'low' for direct use as an agricultural fertiliser. Formulations incorporating dried blood or feather meal amendments enriched the organic N-content, reduced the moisture in mature compost mixtures and aided the granulation process. Inclusion of mineral supplements viz., sulphate of ammonia, rock phosphate and sulphate of potash, yielded slow release fertilisers with nutrient N:P:K ratios of 10:3:6 and 3:5:10 that were suited for amenity grasslands such as golf courses for spring or summer application and autumn dressing, respectively. Rigorous microbiological tests carried out throughout the composting, processing and pelletising phases indicated that the formulated organo-mineral fertilisers were free of vegetative bacterial pathogens.     

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY INDEX FOR AN ALABAMA COASTAL PLAIN WATERSHED1

ABSTRACT: Activities such as agriculture, silviculture, and mining contribute nonpoint pollution to Alabama's streams through polluted runoff and excessive sedimentation. Highly erodible soils characteristic of the Choctawhatchee‐Pea Rivers watershed, combined with intense rainfall and land use practices, contribute large amounts of sediment to streams. Biological monitoring can reflect the acute impacts of pollutants as well as prolonged effects of habitat alteration, and development of biological criteria is important for the establishment of enforceable laws regarding nonpoint source pollution. Macroinvertebrates were collected from 49 randomly selected sites from first through sixth‐order streams in the Choctawhatchee‐Pea Rivers watershed and were identified to genus level. Thirty‐eight candidate metrics were examined, and an invertebrate community index (ICI) was calibrated by eliminating metrics that failed to separate impaired from unimpaired streams. Each site was scored with those metrics, and narrative scores were assigned based on ICI scores. Least impacted sites scored significantly lower than sites impacted by row crop agriculture, cattle, and urban land uses. Conditions in the watershed suggest that the entire area has experienced degradation through past and current land use practices. An initial validation of the index was performed and is described. Additional evaluations of the index are in progress.     

Strategies and methods for investigation of airborne biological agents from work environments in Germany.

In 2004/2005, a European Twinning Project was carried out to support Polish occupational safety and health institutions in putting into practice Directive 2000/54/EC regarding the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents at work. Information on and training in sampling and analysing biological agents of people responsible for bioaerosol measurements and the assessment of measuring results from the workplace atmosphere were part of the project. This paper is an extract of the authors' activities within the project and can be used as a tool for comparable activities in future projects with other European Union candidates. It gives information on working standards for bioaerosol measurements worked out and commonly used in Germany within the frame of European guidelines for bioaerosol measurements in the workplace atmosphere. Additionally it summarizes the authors' long practical experience in carrying out bioaerosol measurements in the atmosphere of various workplaces.     

A biosocial model of entrepreneurship: the combined effects of nurture and nature

Why do people get involved in the creation of new ventures? Prior research suggests entrepreneurial behavior has multiple causes. Nurture explanations; often couched in terms of sociological theories like social learning have been popular. Aspects of nascent entrepreneurs' social contexts, notably their family business background, have been associated with new venture creation. But nature also appears to play a role. Other research has linked heritable biological factors, including testosterone, with the career choice to launch a new venture. This study presents theory and evidence linking the combination of both sociological and biological factors with new venture creation: a biosocial model of entrepreneurship. Empirical results indicate new venture creation is more likely among those individuals having a higher testosterone level in combination with a family business background. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.