Tait Chirenje, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, B108 NAMS, Pomona, NJ 08240-0195, Tel: 609 652 4588, Email: tait.chirenje@stockton.edu

Apart from bridging the gap between practice and theory, service learning has been shown to: deepen student understanding of course content, increase a sense of social responsibility, and, sharpen students’ ability to solve problems creatively and work in a team setting. Service learning has been used successfully in other areas of higher learning. Although private companies in environmental pollution monitoring, remediation and biotechnology have the best settings for service learning, the cooperation of industry and academia is lagging in this area. Most of the cooperation has been in having guest speakers from industry and the exchange of student interns (usually seniors) in specific positions as a recruiting tool by companies. Oftentimes these have already made up their minds about what they want to do in their professional lives, leaving out a majority of students enrolled in lower level classes. Lowerclassmen may be better served by not only hands-on experience, which many professors often incorporate in their curriculum, but real world experience consulting with professionals in their field of work. My classes (Pollution and Regulation, ENVL 3241), and Remediation and Biotechnology (ENVL 4446) have incorporated service learning components that include private companies such as Marathon Engineering (brownfields characterization) and Adams Rehman and Heggan (lake geochemical characterization) with great success. I have also included projects working with local watershed associations, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and local municipalities (brownfields), and residents (tracing the source of contamination in their well water). We are currently in negotiations with GeoSyntec, through the town of Voorhees (NJ) to work with them on a reclamation project of an old landfill. Student express gratitude for the chance to experience what professionals in their fields routinely deal with. Federal and State agencies have invested substantially in this area. It is time for private industry to step up.

Community Relations:  Picking the Right Strategy for Contaminated Sites

Shannon B. Gleason, P.E., ENSR International, 2 Technology Park Drive, Westford, MA 01886, Tel: 978-589-3000, Mobile: 802-989-1164, Fax: 978-589-3100, Email: sgleason@ensr.com

When a project is complicated by site contamination, agencies, stakeholders, and the public can become concerned or alarmed about potential threats and impacts – both direct and perceived - to public health and the environment.  No matter how sound the technical solution, if the community distrusts the information given, the project can languish and costs can increase significantly.  Thus, selecting the appropriate community relations strategy for a site, including the right level of public communications, can be an important factor to consider in the overall project management of a site.  This paper will discuss the steps involved in evaluating the necessity of a community relations program for a site, developing a community relations strategy, and implementing a public communications program in the context of several case studies.  Example strategy plans and implementation materials for sites will be shared – ranging from low/high concern sites to low/high trust communities.

Chemical Contamination Effect on Free-swell Behavior of Kaolinite

Dr. K. Rajeswara Rao, Deputy Executive Engineer, 45-53-10,Abid Nagar, Visakhapatnam-530016, India, Tel: 0891- 2750314, Email: drkrrao2003@yahoo.co.in  

The present study investigates the effect of chemical contamination i.e. anionic contamination (Sulfates) on the free swell behavior of Kaolinite.   Study of the effect of chemical contamination on the physico-chemical behavior of soil assumes a great significance in view of large number of toxic elements generated and released on to land by a number of industries.

Study of free swell behavior of soil helps to assess the soil’s swelling ability since the procedure   involving the assessment of sediment volume in kerosene and water considers the type of clay mineral present besides the associated inter-particle forces of attraction and repulsion.

In the present investigation, Kaolinite had occupied more sediment volume in kerosene than in water and this had resulted in negative free swell index (%).   In a solvent with a zero or low dipole moment, the inter-particle bond is mainly dispersion in nature, the kaolinite particles due to their weak binding were randomly arranged on settling and hence occupied a higher sediment volume in kerosene.   In water, with a high dipole moment, the kaolinite particles were regularly arranged on settling and occupied less sediment volume.   This had resulted in negative free swell index in case of uncontaminated kaolinite.

Kaolinite when polluted with 35000-PPM concentration of sodium sulfate had occupied more volume in water than in kerosene.   This was quite contrary to what was observed in case of uncontaminated kaolinite.   Inter-particle forces of attraction and repulsion were affected by chemical contamination and the change in fabric was indirectly assessed through free swell index and shrinkage limit.   Sulfate contamination had resulted in kaolinite to behave like a soil containing a mixture of non-swelling and swelling minerals.   A non-swelling kaolinite mineral is responsible for a sediment volume of 1.10 CC per gram in kerosene and a swelling type of clay mineral with significant repulsive forces favoring a high sediment volume in water.   The pH of the soil was increased substantially on sulfate contamination (pH is 9.97) and is conducive for dispersion.   The shrinkage limit was reduced considerably on sulfate contamination.   It was found that liquid limit had a linear relation with sediment volume as well as shrinkage limit for both uncontaminated as well as contaminated kaolinite thus supporting that soil fabric regulates the shrinkage lime as well as sediment volume.

Increasing Sand Strength With Bacteria

Mary J.S. Roth, Lafayette College, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Easton, PA, 18042, Tel: 610-330-5427, Fax: 610-330-5059, Email: rothm@lafayette.edu
Laurie F. Caslake, Lafayette College, Department of Biology, Easton, PA, 18042, Tel: 610-330-5462, Fax: 610-330-5427, Email: caslakel@lafayette.edu
Blaire L. Banagan, Lafayette College, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Easton, PA, 18042, Tel: 610-330-5437, Fax: 610-330-5059, Email: banaganb@lafayette.edu

Liquefaction in saturated, loose sand deposits causes a rapid loss of soil strength.  Structures built on these types of deposits can suffer catastrophic failure if liquefaction occurs.  Engineers use dynamic compaction and vibrocompaction as well as other methods to improve the soil strength.  However, these methods are difficult to implement if structures exist on or nearby the site.  A proof of concept study has been conducted to determine whether the addition of biofilm-forming bacteria increases the strength of such liquefiable soils.   It was hypothesized that the microbes will provide some cohesion between the sand particles thereby increasing their resistance to liquefaction.  If the bacteria increase the soil strength, they could be inoculated into soils below existing structures using natural groundwater gradients. 

To test the idea, a box model was built that permits liquid flow through a main sand compartment with sampling ports stationed vertically and horizontally.  Baseline strength tests using a vane shear device were performed on Ottawa sand pluviated into the box into standing water and on the same sand material pluviated into the box into air.  In the second case, water was then added slowly and a low gradient flow established across the sand deposit.  The sand deposits were then recreated with Flavobacterium johnsonaie added to the standing water for the first case and with the same bacteria introduced up gradient in the second case.  After a period of approximately eight days and after confirming the presence and extent of the bacteria in the sand deposit, strength tests were conducted and compared to the baseline results.  Increases in strength from 10 to 100 percent were observed indicating that inoculating with bacteria may be a viable way to increase the strength of liquefiable sands.

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