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Electronic
Data Management in a RCRA Project - A Case Study
Sandeep Ganesh, URS
Corporation, 12 Commerce Drive, Cranford, NJ 07716, Tel:
908-709-3946, Fax:
908-272-3940
Joshua
A. Jaffe, Harding ESE, 21A Progress Street,
Edison, NJ 08820, Tel: 732-738-2090, Fax: 908-738-2098
The
manner in which data is gathered, generated, stored and
presented during the course of an Environmental
Remediation project has been undergoing a sea change. This
is due in no small part to the advances in Information
Technology and its manifestations in the Environmental
Science and Engineering arena.
The present document discusses these Electronic
Data Management methodologies as applied in an ongoing
RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) project. The
site is in central New Jersey and is currently an asphalt
production plant for a large oil company. The broad
objectives of the ongoing environmental effort at the site
are – preparing parts of the 360 acre property for sale
(Brownfield Re-development) and stabilizing the rest of
the property under the USEPA and the state’s RCRA
guidelines. The
field tasks include - soil and groundwater sampling
(quarterly), excavation monitoring, stockpile sampling,
and Free Product and dissolved phase monitoring.
Management standards have been instituted for data
collection, storage, sample naming conventions, forms and
logs, and sample location names.
A database tracking system has been established to
account for daily field activities including sample
collection and chains of custody.
A Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) is
being used effectively in conjunction with a Geographic
Information System (GIS) to store and analyze the data,
and to output information in the form of maps, tables,
charts and reports with minimal effort. Customizing and
deploying such a system however takes a high level of
commitment from the entire project team.
Faulty system designs, software problems, and
non-adherence to procedures can lead to significant
problems. Once
in place the Electronic Data Management System has reduced
errors, saved time and costs, and most important of all
– established data integrity.
Application
of Saline Wastewater for Production of Agricultural Crops
Esmaiel
Malek,
Utah State University Associate Professor, Biometeorology,
4820 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Dept. Plants,
Soils, & Biometeorology, Logan, UT 84322-4820, Tel:
435-797-3284
Bradley
Giles,
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Saline
wastewater coming from the coal fired power plants owned
and operated by PacifiCorp (Utah Power), has applied to
the Hunter Research Farm in central Utah, U.S.A., since
1987, or irrigation of various agricultural crops such as
alfalfa, wheat, barley, etc. Researchers from Utah State
University (USU), Brigham
Young University (BYU), and PacifiCorp are involved in
this multipurpose project.
The primary goals of
this research are to maximize crop production
and evapotranspiration, while not allowing surface
runoff to natural streams or leaching to groundwater.
Salinity of the wastewater is about ten times that
of the nearby river.
We used
the water balance approach, along with the continuous
measurements of weather parameters (including
precipitation), irrigation (using the sprinkler system),
and change in the root zone soil moisture contents (using
the neutron probe) to study evapotranspiration
(using the Bowen ratio system) throughout the years
(1987 - 2001). The
results show that the soil moisture contents in the root
zone and beyond are slightly lower at the end of the
irrigation season (mid November) compared to that measured
in the beginning of the season (mid April).
This indicates that all saline wastewater applied
plus precipitation were consumed by crops.
Also, the results indicate that by monitoring the
amount of irrigation during the past 15 years, no surface runoff or
deep percolation has occurred.
Introducing
Water Catchment Quality Control into Urban Development
Policy in Cameroon (A
Case Study of the Municipal Lake in Yaounde)
Francis
Ngwa Niba,
CEI/CAM, via Akem F F , Box 5792, Douala Cameroon
The
contamination of water catchment regions within urban
settlement in Africa with particular reference to Cameroon
is a problem and takes an epidemic proportion when the
same topic is treated in the principal urban zones. In our
abstract the Municipal Lake of Yaounde, located in the
heart of the administrative capital of the country is
taken for a case study.
For
a historical review, I have exposed memories of this lake
(a natural endowment) more than two decades ago, when it
was an economic, social, health and ecological resort. On
the other hand, I have examined the lake from about 20
years ago, with out mincing words, from when the general
hospital, some Ministerial blocs and a four star hotel
(Hotel Des Deputes) dumped all their sewage into the lake.
This done by the use of conduit pipes to channel
wastewater and solid objects into the lake, thus rendering
the site an economic waste, social and health risk. A
third part of this abstract start from 1990 when thanks to
the introduction of the Liberty Laws amongst which granted
individuals or groups of individuals the right to form
political parties and other Associations, NGO inclusive,
it resulted in some positive changes.
The
impact of the creation of NGO for environmental issues as
assisted by the coming into force of this general text on
Associations goes a long way to prove my reason for a
clamour for particular legislation on aspects like Water,
soils etc. This I back by the point that due to combine
pressure from some NGO, an unusual decision has just been
taken by the government. In the decision the
government has compelled the said Hotel Des Deputes which
is the principal pollutant to pay for remediation cost,
and is currently undertaking a sewage disposal project for
both the general hospital and the ministerial complex. The
lake and its peripheral areas also going to get a
face-lift, but until environmental legislation is enacted
this effort may not go a long way to assist the general
contamination rate of the Country. I think if Cameroon had
particular legislation on this, it would go along way to
remedy this situation nation-wide.
As
conclusion, I have proposals for Non Governmental
Associations on the one hand and Government Environmental
officers dealing with water and their catchment areas on
the other. I attempt what I should call the way forward by
opting for some social, economical and ecological reforms
that should be carried around this lake. Propose a working
ethics for those handling situation of this nature and
another code for water quality and quantity control in
both urban and rural areas as well as laws on other
environmental aspects.
Studies
of Hydraulic Properties of Ceramic Porous Media, Sonning
Sandy Loam and Redhill Fine Sand Soils, For Subsurface
Water Application
J.A. Okalebo,
Dept. of
Soil Science, Moi University, P.O. Box 1125, ELDORET,
Kenya
L.P. Simmonds, M. Wood, D. L. Rowell, and A. Verhoef, Dept
of Soil Science, University of Reading, P.O. Box 233,
Whiteknights, RG6 6DW READING, United Kingdom
Laboratory
studies were conducted to establish the physical and
hydraulic properties of 5 porous ceramics, and two soils;
Sonning sandy loam and Redhill fine sand. The porous
ceramics varied in their clay and sand contents (ranging
from 0 to 75% by volume) hence also in their abilities to
conduct water. The interaction of the ceramics with the
two soils was established by subsurface water application
using ceramics and soil wetting patterns mapped out. It
was interesting to note that the physical properties of
ceramics and soil had a large effect on the wetting area
and volume patterns. The ceramics did not have the
capacity to act as semi-permeable membranes as had been
hypothesized.
The
saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) of
Redhill fine sand was equal to and greater than the
saturated hydraulic conductivity, Kc, of
Ceramic D and C, respectively. A larger wetted area and
soil volume was realized for the fine sand as compared to
that for sub-surface water application obtained for
Sonning sandy loam who Ks was much smaller than
the Kc values for the two ceramics. For an
effective sub-surface water application and large wetted
area, soil should have similar or greater hydraulic
conductivity than that of the porous medium.
Very
low unsaturated hydraulic conductivities realized at the
top few centimeters of the infiltration column for both
soils, (especially for Sonning sandy loam) coupled with
steep hydraulic potentials, would greatly reduce movement
of water to the surface. For the end users, this implies
that reduced losses of water by surface evaporation are
attainable and conservation of scarce water resources is
possible.
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