Basewood- ​ Boron Remediation Technology

An Innovative and Cost-Effective Boron Adsorbent Media Authors Ms. Allison Kreinberg - United States - Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. Mr. Rob Ferree - United States - Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. Dr. Duane Graves - United States - Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. Abstract Boron can be an indicator of coal combustion residual (CCR) impacts to groundwater due to its elevated concentration within CCR materials and highly mobile (conservative) geochemical behavior. Groundwater remedial alternatives for boron may be necessary if it is added to the list of assessment monitoring constituents under the Federal CCR Rule (40 CFR 257 Subpart D) or if States elect to regulate boron in groundwater (as in Illinois). Geosyntec has developed a cost-effective, patent-pending media for removal of boron from CCR-impacted groundwater. Geosyntec has evaluated the applicability of this boron removal media by completing column tests using a two-phase treatment system and groundwater collected from two different CCR sites impacted by boron. Testing using groundwater from both sites found that the boron concentrations were reduced from 30 mg/L to less than 2 mg/L. This resulted in a boron loading capacity comparable to those attained by commercially available but more expensive ion exchange resins. Testing was also completed to evaluate boron behavior under post-closure conditions, suggesting that concentrations do not return to pre-closure conditions, and reductions will be maintained long-term. An example application using representative site conditions will illustrate the applicability and cost-effectiveness of this technology

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead