Optimizing Liquid Effluent Monitoring at a Large Nuclear Complex

Effluent monitoring typically requires a large number of analytes and samples during the initial or startup phase of a facility. Once a baseline is established, the analyte list and sampling frequency may be reduced. Although there is a large body of literature relevant to the initial design, few, if any, published papers exist on updating established effluent monitoring programs. This paper statistically evaluates four years of baseline data to optimize the liquid effluent monitoring efficiency of a centralized waste treatment and disposal facility at a large defense nuclear complex. Specific objectives were to: (1) assess temporal variability in analyte concentrations, (2) determine operational factors contributing to waste stream variability, (3) assess the probability of exceeding permit limits, and (4) streamline the sampling and analysis regime. Results indicated that the probability of exceeding permit limits was one in a million under normal facility operating conditions, sampling frequency could be reduced, and several analytes could be eliminated. Furthermore, indicators such as gross alpha and gross beta measurements could be used in lieu of more expensive specific isotopic analyses (radium, cesium-137, and strontium-90) for routine monitoring. Study results were used by the state regulatory agency to modify monitoring requirements for a new discharge permit, resulting in an annual cost savings of US $223,000. This case study demonstrates that statistical evaluation of effluent contaminant variability coupled with process knowledge can help plant managers and regulators streamline analyte lists and sampling frequencies based on detection history and environmental risk.     

Simplified method for detecting tritium contamination in plants and soil

Cost-effective methods are needed to identify the presence and distribution of tritium near radioactive waste disposal and other contaminated sites. The objectives of this study were to (i) develop a simplified sample preparation method for determining tritium contamination in plants and (ii) determine if plant data could be used as an indicator of soil contamination. The method entailed collection and solar distillation of plant water from foliage, followed by filtration and adsorption of scintillation-interfering constituents on a graphite-based solid phase extraction (SPE) column. The method was evaluated using samples of creosote bush [Larrea tridentata (Sessé & Moc. ex DC.) Coville], an evergreen shrub, near a radioactive disposal area in the Mojave Desert. Laboratory tests showed that a 2-g SPE column was necessary and sufficient for accurate determination of known tritium concentrations in plant water. Comparisons of tritium concentrations in plant water determined with the solar distillation-SPE method and the standard (and more laborious) toluene-extraction method showed no significant difference between methods. Tritium concentrations in plant water and in water vapor of root-zone soil also showed no significant difference between methods. Thus, the solar distillation-SPE method provides a simple and cost-effective way to identify plant and soil contamination. The method is of sufficient accuracy to facilitate collection of plume-scale data and optimize placement of more sophisticated (and costly) monitoring equipment at contaminated sites. Although work to date has focused on one desert plant, the approach may be transferable to other species and environments after site-specific experiments.     

A high performance liquid chromatography method for determination of gas-phase hydrogen peroxide in ambient air using Fenton's chemistry

A new method for determination of hydrogen peroxide in atmospheric samples is described. Cryogenically collected H2O2 is reacted with sodium salicylate in the presence of Fe(2+) to produce dihydroxybenzoate, which is separated from the reaction mixture by high performance liquid chromatography and detected by UV absorption. Measurements of atmospheric H2O2 were conducted in Las Vegas, NV from June 1999 to December 1999 to evaluate and characterize the method. Measured mixing ratios of H2O2 (there were also non-detects) ranged from 0.012 to 2.74 ppbv, with expected correlations to primary gaseous pollutants and strong seasonal variation consistent with a photochemically derived species. It was concluded that the method is easy to use and has sufficient sensitivity and selectivity to be useful in atmospheric monitoring.     

Fragmentation profiles for real and simulated landscapes

When a natural landscape is represented by a series of categorical raster maps of varying resolution, a multiresolution characterization of spatial pattern can be obtained in which entropy is computed at each resolution conditional on the next coarser resolution. The series of entropy values is plotted as a function of resolution, resulting in a multiresolution profile of fragmentation pattern in the landscape. If a categorical raster map is available at a single resolution only, a series of degraded maps at increasingly coarser resolutions is generated and the fragmentation profile is computed for this series. An algorithm has been developed for obtaining the profile directly from the single resolution map without having to generate and store the coarser resolution maps. A hierarchical stochastic model is described for simulating categorical raster maps and the fragmentation profile of the generating process is obtained in terms of the model parameters. These process profiles provide benchmarks for assessing empirical profiles obtained from raster maps of actual landscapes. Methods of the paper are applied to several watersheds of Pennsylvania using landcover maps derived from satellite imagery. These examples indicate that characteristic landscape types induce characteristic features in their fragmentation profiles.     

Effects of elevated carbon dioxide on soils in a Florida scrub oak ecosystem

The results of a 3-yr study on the effects of elevated CO2 on soil N and P, soil pCO2, and calculated CO2 efflux in a fire-regenerated Florida scrub oak ecosystem are summarized. We hypothesized that elevated CO2 would cause (i) increases in soil pCO2 and soil respiration and (ii) reduced levels of soil-available N and P. The effects of elevated CO2 on soil N availability differed according to the method used. Results of resin lysimeter collections and anion exchange membrane tests in the field showed reduced NO3- in soils in Years 1 and 3. On the other hand, re-analysis of homogenized, buried soil bags after 1 yr suggested a relative increase in N availability (lower C to N ratio) under elevated CO2. In the case of P, the buried bags and membranes suggested a negative effect of CO2 on P during the first year; this faded over time, however, as P availability declined overall, probably in response to P uptake. Elevated CO2 had no effect on soil pCO2 or calculated soil respiration at any time, further suggesting that plant rather than microbial uptake was the primary factor responsible for the observed changes in N and P availability with elevated CO2.     

Predicting physical and chemical water properties from relationships with watershed soil characteristics

The Surface Waters component of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAPSW) was developed by the USEPA to evaluate the extent and condition of lakes and streams over national and regional scales. Realistically, chemical or physical water properties (WPs) such as acidity or turbidity can be field-sampled for only a small portion of all lakes and streams. However, soil characteristics (SCs) affect WPs and broad-scale soil survey data have become available in the State Soil Geographic Data Base (STATSGO). We developed models relating observed WPs to SCs to extrapolate the sampled WPs to a region, potentially reducing extensive monitoring needs. Our study region consisted of 13 northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and contained 882 STATSGO soil map units. We used map units as the spatial component of WP analysis. The WPs were sampled in 721 randomly selected EMAPSW study sites. The watersheds of these sites represent 7.1% of the region's total area and spatially intersect 400 of its soil map units. Each intersected map unit was assigned the weighted average WPs from the corresponding watersheds. Conditional expectation models were used to extrapolate sampled WPs to 882 map units. The relative standard errors ranged from low for pH (0.8%), intermediate for total P (12.1%), and very high for chloride (54.8%). The high extrapolation errors indicate outlier conditions from natural, non-soil, or anthropogenic sources.     

Genetic differentiation independent of intertidal gradients in the pulmonate limpet Siphonaria kurracheensis

The intertidal limpet Siphonaria kurracheensis (Reeve, 1856) has a bimodal vertical distribution of abundance on rocky shores at Rottnest Island, Western Australia. An electrophoretic study of 5 polymorphic enzymes revealed no consistent genetic differences between adults high and low on the shore. Contrasting with this absence of a detectable genetic response to the steep environmental gradients in the intertidal zone, there were genetic differences among low-shore adults from different sites, and between adults and recruits. This genetic differentiation could be due to either localized selection or temporal variation in the genetic makeup of recruits.Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney     

Particulate removal and opacity using a wet venturi scrubber — the Minnesota Power and Light experience

Minnesota Power and Light is installing a wet venturi particulate scrubber and a spray tower SO₂ absorber as the Air Quality Control System for their 500 MW Unit #4, Clay Boswell Station, Cohasset, Minnesota. The system is being designed and installed by Peabody Process Systems, Inc., Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to start-up the full scale unit, a 1 MW pilot plant was installed and tested to evaluate the performance of the system. Extensive data was collected for two different western coals with regard to venturi particulate removal characteristics and its effect on opacity. Correlations were also developed using pilot plant opacity data to predict full scale opacity results. This paper summarizes the test results obtained and conclusions reached.     

Man-made and natural smog in California

The radiocarbon content in creosote bush in the greater Los Angeles area has been found to reflect the distribution of smog. Indications are that smog in the even larger air basin of the San Joaquin Valley of California may be caused in part by recent biospheric emissions rather than by fossil fuel combustion alone.