Student Abstracts: Environmental Science at BNL

Identifying Potential Problem Areas in the Design and Filtration of Local Exhaust Ventilation Systems at Brookhaven National Laboratory. TRACY JACKSON (Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118) JOHN PETERS (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).

It is very important to the workers safety, the working environment, and the atmosphere that local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems, used for the capture of hazardous materials and vapors, have correctly designed stacks and adequately maintained High Efficiency Particle Absolute (HEPA) filters if they are needed. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the LEV systems of buildings to determine if the correct design criteria are met, and to update the information and database regarding HEPA filters. It is a pilot study to develop the inspection criteria, practical documentation methods, and determine the time and resources needed for project completion. Conducting a questionnaire with administrative and technical personnel as well as taking guided tours of the interior and exterior of the buildings was the method of data collection. It was found that 43% of the stacks on the roof of Building 480 are mushroom caps, which do not meet the height requirement, and there is a stack releasing carcinogenic and nitrate vapors very near an air intake. Building 463 has a HEPA filter that is only performing at 85% efficiency when 99.97% is desired. Also, all of the surveyed stacks on the roof of Building 463 are made of galvanized steel, which is prone to rusting and developing holes. It is recommended that the mushroom stacks at Building 480 be replaced with stacks meeting the height requirement, and that the stack located near the air intake either be decommissioned or redesigned. The HEPA filter for lab 264 at Building 463 should be evaluated for correct installment and filter type, and the life cycle costs for the galvanized steel stacks should be assessed to see if replacement is feasible. Not only was this valuable information found but also the procedure for surveying the LEV systems in a building was developed and can be used on the remaining buildings at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Mapping Invasive Species of Long Island. TIM WALTERS (SUNY ESF, Syracuse, NY 13210) PETER KELLY (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).

Invasive plant species have been an issue of concern on Long Island for many years whose spread has become an issue of increasing concern due to their displacement of naturally occurring plants and natural habitat composition. In order to establish effective methods of eliminating/controlling these species on Long Island requires information pertaining to introduction into an area, rate of spread and likely vehicle(s) of transmission between areas is needed. Initial infestation data was collected and map overlays were developed using GPS and ArcMap/View software. In doing this, shape-files were created in three forms (point, line, polygon) depending on dimensional characteristics of infestations ensuring accuracy of data collected. Visual aides (map overlays) were then created allowing the comparison between previously undisturbed areas with disturbed areas that now serve as habitat for invasive plants. These weed occurrences were also imported into a database (along with additional field data collected) that may be made the standard for all noxious/invasive weed occurrences nationwide that will allow the sharing of information pertaining to them including effective control measures. As may have been expected, there was a direct correlation between where these developments took place and the currently infested areas. It could also be seen that areas likely to receive the highest frequency of disturbance by people/vehicles, seemed to have a higher amount of (in some cases more dense) occurrences. This project will serve as a foundation for future comparisons and will serve as the initial data that will be used to compare changes in size, density, and numbers of occurrences in the years to come.

Material Inventory Analysis in Manufacturing Cu(In0.75Ga0.25)Se2 Photovoltaics. DANIEL CHERN (Columbia University, New York, NY 10027) VASILIS FTHENAKIS (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).

Potential environmental effects of producing the materials used in manufacturing Cu(In0.75Ga0.25)Se2 (CIGS) photovoltaic cells are examined. Information is gathered concerning the mining, extraction, and purification or the three metals, which are used in these cells: indium, gallium, and selenium. Most of the information was collected from Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology and Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Other major sources were the USGS: Mineral Commodity Summaries of 2002, US Patent Office, and Andersson's Material Constraints on Technology Evolution. The information was compiled to describe various mining, extraction, and purification processes and some emissions and waste streams. Indium comes from zinc ore, which undergoes flash roasting or fluidized roasting, and then is leached and purified by electrolysis or cementation. Gallium primarily comes from bauxite ore by means of the Bayer process, extracted by the Beja, de la Breteque, Rhône-Poulenc, or Sumitomo processes, and purified by electrolysis, filtering and heating, gradual crystallization, or conversion to halides. Selenium is separated from copper ore in copper smelters as electrolytic copper refinery slimes, extracted by roasting in soda or sodium carbonate, Outokumpu Oy Process, or wet chlorination, and then purified by vacuum distillation or vaporization. This paper is a compilation of information needed for the initial step for a complete report on the life cycle analysis of the CIGS photovoltaic cell.

Photovoltaic Installation Environmental Health & Safety Issues. KIM TRAN (University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36695) VASILIS FTHENAKIS (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).

This project studies the risks related to PV installation and maintenance. In the analysis of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns associated with photovoltaic (PV) systems, two issues that will be discussed are risk of fall from the roof by installers and electrical hazards to repair personnel. The homeowner as well as the system installation or repair personnel should be aware of the risks associated with photovoltaic systems so that unnecessary injuries may be prevented. Rooftop installations are of particular concern due to the risk of injury associated with climbing on and off the roof as well as while working on the roof. Since there are no statistics that characterize installation of PV systems, the roofing industry is used here as a reference. The Bureau of Labor Statistics was used as the primary source for data to develop rates for both fatal and nonfatal injuries and illnesses among all workers, construction workers, and roofers specifically. Analysis of the statistics on injury and fatalities shows that the risk of injury to roofers, both fatal and nonfatal, is one and a half times higher than those in general construction. One area of concern in installation and maintenance of PV systems is electrical shock to individuals performing work on the PV modules or those who inadvertently come into contact with components of the PV systems. The maximum peak current produced by modules used in residential buildings ranges from approximately 3A to 7A; this level of current is enough to cause nerve damage and muscular contractions. Three situations in which the potential for electrical shock may occur will be discussed in this document: open lines from the inverter, islanding, and improper grounding

Qualitative Investigation and Identification of Odonate Larvae at Brookhaven National Laboratory. SUSAN COSTA (Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI 02886) DR. TIMOTHY M. GREEN (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).

The Order Odonata is believed to have appeared about 250 to 300 million years ago during the Carboniferous period, which was part of the Paleozoic Era. Based on fossil records dragonflies of this time period were huge with wingspans that measured up to 70 cm (27.5 in.). Over time they have diverged into two Suborders, Zygoptera (damselflies) and Anisoptera (dragonflies). The purpose for conducting the research at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) was to identify and catalog the specimens found at the laboratory. The goal was to identify the specimens down to the species level whenever possible, and to compare the distribution of the various species across all ponds studied. Some of the ponds selected for the research have historically been used by the tiger salamander (Ambystoma t. tigrinum) and are designated as P-1, P-2, P-6, P-7, P-9, and P-10 (P standing for pond). Several of the ponds near the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) were also sampled. One of the ponds is referred to as the “9 O’clock Pond” and the others are referred to as Recharge Ponds A6a, A6b, A6c and A6d. The Peconic River was also sampled specifically for Ebony Jewelwing larvae because it is the only location on the Lab where the adults have be found. Once a pond was selected, a dip net, seining net, or a minnow trap was used to collect specimens out in the field. Specimens were temporarily stored in Ziploc bags and placed in a cooler on ice. The purpose for the ice was to keep specimens alive and immobile while identifying them in the lab. Once specimens were brought into the lab, a dissecting microscope and taxonomic keys were used to identify specimens to genus and species. By project end, seven dragonfly larvae have been identified to the species level, two have been identified to the genus level and three damselflies have been identified to the species level. Anisoptera larvae identified at BNL include Anax junius found at P-10 and 9 O’clock Pond, and Recharge Basins A6a, A6b, A6c and A6d; Aeshna umbrosa found at A6d and the Peconic River; Anax longipes found at P-7, Somatochlora williamsoni found at P-10, Symptrum janeae and Pachydiplax longipennis found at P-1, Libellula semifasciata found at P-7; and Dythemis sp. found at P-2 and P-7, but could not be identified to the species level. Zygoptera identified at BNL were: Enallagma durum found at P-10, Lestes eurinus found at P-1, and Lestes unguiculatus were found at P-2 and P-1. Future research may expand to other ponds as part of a larger on going biotic inventory of the lab.

Site Testing at a Coal-Fired Power Plant for Mercury Deposition. GENEANE WALSH (The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, NJ 08240) BIAYS BOWERMAN (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973).

The purpose of this project is to collect and analyze samples to characterize mercury deposition trends around a coal-fired electric power plant. Several studies of mercury deposition have shown that both wet and dry deposition transfer airborne mercury to the terrestrial environment. Therefore, mercury concentrations in soil around the power plant will provide an integrated deposition history and can be used to judge the impacts of the power plant on deposition. Modeling of mercury deposition from power plants suggests that wet deposition due to scavenging of mercury by rain drops will lead to deposition rates on the order of background or greater in a small almost circular region 5 ? 10 km around the plant. Dry deposition peaks further from the plant in the direction of the prevailing wind. Vegetation and soil will be collected at selected sites within 25 kilometers coal-fired power plant. Integrated mercury concentration in air will be determined using the moss bag technique. All the samples are taken back to the lab for analysis using the Milestone Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA). The analysis time for each sample is 6 minutes using the DMA. To provide a baseline for the method, soil and vegetation samples from BNL were collected in June from 2 locations: the softball fields and the field between the Guest House and Brookhaven Center. The initial results from the samples collected at Brookhaven National Laboratory showed more variability than expected. The DMA was blowing some sample particles out of the boats; this caused the sample weight to be lower than the weight entered and therefore gave high results. There were also system malfunctions due to the ambient lab temperature. In order to address these problems, the DMA was to be moved to another lab. Results from soil samples collected on site show that the maintenance of the DMA helped to improve the samples were more measurement precision. GIS maps are being created for several candidate sites. Within the next few months, samples will be collected from at least one Power Plant site. Future plans for the experiment are to collect samples from a number of different Power Plants in the United States.