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Tag Archives: Environment

Nanoparticles in the Environment – EHS Now Part of Undergraduate Research

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Cleantech; EPA; Nanotech Regulation; Water

Interesting example yesterday for how nanotechnology is presented to the public and forming part of our educational systems, including EHS aspects.  We visited Virginia Tech for the day as part of my daughter’s evaluation of prospective colleges.  Our interests included their engineering departments.  In their visitor building, where the tours start, Virginia Tech includes presentation material for several nanotechnology-related issues the university is working on.  One was for how nanoparticles can be transported in the environment over long distances.  The lead professor is in Geosciences, and collaboration is present with civil and environmental engineering professors.   Virginia Tech promotes a “hands-on, minds-on” approach to training its undergrads in engineering, and they indicate that undergraduate research will be part of the project.

Below has more information about the NSF grant on the subject:

Researchers from geosciences and civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech are part of a consortium of four principal universities and five other schools awarded a multimillion dollar grant to study nanotechnology and the environment. This is one of only two such consortiums funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to form a national Center for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN). Total funding for the project is $14 million over five years with an opportunity to renew for another five years. Virginia Tech’s portion of the grant is $1.75 million.

New Book on Hanford a Good Summer Read for Energy/Environment/Government Issues

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Book Reviews

Beating the odds at a bookstore is a treasure.  One picks up a book randomly while perusing the shelves and, unexpectedly, finds that a book hits "close to home."  Buy it without hesitation. 

For example, I found this new book the other day: Atomic Frontier Days, Hanford and the American West, by John M. Findlay and Bruce Hevly (University of Washington Press), 2011.  In 271 pages, they tell the story of Hanford in remote territory in south central Washington state (along the Columbia River).  The site was set up for production of plutonium during World War II, and then maintained for same during the cold war that followed.  The Tri-Cities area grew up below the Hanford site with its own, unique culture and set of social issues (the cities are Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco).  Now, 60 plus years later, large clean-up issues remain, and the area has evolved.  In sum, a good summer read to supplement the novels, for those interested in EEG (energy, environment, and the government).  The authors clearly worked very hard on this book, condensing vast material into readable form with a nice touch of photos and maps.

For me, in addition to connecting with EEG interests, the treasure of the book also stems from my first scientific research experience.  During college, I spent a summer at Hanford doing research with supercritical fluids.  The memories are good, and this remote area remains unique in my memory.  The book deepens those memories with color and context, if that is possible.

The energy that went into Hanford should not be forgotten in our modern cleantech times.

New Nano Reporting Rules Under Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act

Posted by Bruce Wu on Posted in EPA; Nanotech Regulation

EPA is poised next year to propose a new rule requiring manufacturers of nanomaterials to submit data on production, exposure and available safety information, as the agency moves towards stricter rules in the wake of lackluster results from a voluntary Bush-era initiative.

The agency is developing a rule under Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act to “establish reporting requirements for certain nanoscale materials,” according to the EPA’s recently published unified agenda. Manufacturers would be required to provide EPA with information on “production volume, methods of manufacture and processing, exposure and release information, and available health and safety data” under the rule.

The information “will provide EPA with an opportunity to evaluate the information and consider appropriate action under TSCA to reduce any risk to human health or the environment,” the agenda says. A notice of proposed rulemaking is slated for June 2010.