45 research outputs found
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Mercury-selenium interactions in the environment
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider the need to control emissions of trace elements and compounds emitted from coal combustion, including coal-fired power plants. Concern has been expressed about emissions of mercury and arsenic, for example, since health effects may be associated with exposure to some of these compounds. By and large, effects of trace element emissions have been considered individually, without regard for possible interactions. To the extent that the relevant environmental pathways and health endpoints differ, this mode of analysis is appropriate. For example, arsenic is considered a carcinogen and mercury affects the brain. However, there may be compelling reasons to consider emissions of mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) together: (1) Both Se and Hg are emitted from power plants primarily as vapors. (2) Hg and Se are both found in fish, which is the primary pathway for Hg health effects. (3) Se has been shown to suppress Hg methylation in aqueous systems, which is a necessary step for Hg health effects at current environmental concentrations. (4) Se is a trace element that is essential for health but that can also be toxic at high concentrations; it can thus have both beneficial and adverse health effects, depending on the dosage. This paper reviews some of the salient characteristics and interactions of the Hg-Se system, to consider the hypothesis that the effects of emissions of these compounds should be considered jointly
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Deriving cleanup guidelines for radionuclides at Brookhaven National Laboratory
Past activities at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) resulted in soil and groundwater contamination. As a result, BNL was designated a Superfund site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). BNL`s Office of Environmental Restoration (OER) is overseeing environmental restoration activities at the Laboratory. With the exception of radium, there are no regulations or guidelines to establish cleanup guidelines for radionuclides in soils at BNL. BNL must derive radionuclide soil cleanup guidelines for a number of Operable Units (OUs) and Areas of Concern (AOCs). These guidelines are required by DOE under a proposed regulation for radiation protection of public health and the environment as well as to satisfy the requirements of CERCLA. The objective of this report is to propose a standard approach to deriving risk-based cleanup guidelines for radionuclides in soil at BNL. Implementation of the approach is briefly discussed
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Summary of proposed approach for deriving cleanup guidelines for radionuclides in soil at Brookhaven National Laboratory
Past activities at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) resulted in soil and groundwater contamination. As a result, BNL was designated a Superfund site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). BNL`s Office of Environmental Restoration (OER) is overseeing environmental restoration activities at the Laboratory, carried out under an Interagency Agreement (IAG) with the United States Department of Energy (DOE), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The objective of this paper is to propose a standard approach to deriving risk-based cleanup guidelines for radionuclides in soil at BNL
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Environmental and health aspects of copper-indium-diselenide thin-film photovoltaic modules
Copper-indium-diselenide (CIS) is a semiconductor compound that can be used to produce thin-film photovoltaic modules. There is on-going research being conducted by various federal agencies and private industries to demonstrate the commercial viability of this material. Because this is a new technology, and because scant information about the health and environmental hazards associated with the use of this material is available, studies have been initiated to characterize the environmental mobility and environmental toxicology of this compound. The objective of these studies is to identify the environmental and health hazards associated with the production, use, and disposal of CIS thin-film photovoltaic modules. The program includes both experimental and theoretical components. Theoretical studies are being undertaken to estimate material flows through the environment for a range of production options as well as use and disposal scenarios. The experimental programs characterize the physical, chemical e.g. leachability and biological parameters e.g. EC{sub 50} in daphnia and algae, and feeding studies in rats
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Environmental and health aspects of CIS-module production, use and disposal
Copper indium diselenide (CIS) is one of the most promising compounds in thin film technology. Since there is scant information available about environmental and health hazards, a study was initiated to characterize risks associated with the production, use and disposal of thin film photovoltaic modules. Data available from literature and developers of this technology contribute to an assessment of potential risks during production. In laboratory experiments the release of hazardous materials during operation caused by accidents or false handling and after disposal are simulated. In biological experiments the possible impact on living matter is established. These experiments comprise toxicity tests with aquatic organisms and rats representing mammals
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A review of incentives, strategies and model technologies for recycling photovoltaic modules
This paper identifies existing recycling programs for consumer products with similar composition to photovoltaic (PV) modules, including cathode-ray tubes, electronic circuit boards, batteries, and automobile windshield glass. Discussed are incentives, the selection of technologies, and strategies used to recycle these products. Since the technologies for recycling these products exist, developing a process, or series of processes, for PV modules should primarily be a matter of customization. Developing an entire recycling program that is economically feasible will provide a greater challenge. Achieving this will require careful analysis of incentives, use of various combinations of strategies, and inclusion of multiple industries for additional technical processes. This can contribute to the success of a program by dividing the costs and ensuring that secondary products and materials enter into a diverse amount of markets
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Energy and complex industrial systems environmental emissions data reporting and acquisition
The Joint International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), UNEP and WHO Project on Assessing and Managing Health and Environmental risks from Energy and Other Complex Technologies intends to complile emissions data for mportant energy systems and other complex technologies from a wide variety of countries. To facilitate data generation and compilation, this report: outlines data reporting protocols; identifies potential information sources; demonstrates how to estimate coefficients; presents some compiled US emission coefficients or criteria air pollutants for some energy process; and, compares national air emission standards for electricity generating plants in OECD member countries. 27 refs., 2 fis., 1 tabs
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Understanding and managing health and environmental risks of CIS, CGS, and CdTe photovoltaic module production and use: A workshop
Environmental, health and safety (EH&S) risks presented by CIS, CGS and CdTe photovoltaic module production, use and decommissioning have been reviewed and discussed by several authors. Several EH&S concerns exit. The estimated EH&S risks are based on extrapolations of toxicity, environmental mobility, and bioavailability data for other related inorganic compounds. Sparse data, however, are available for CIS, CGS or CdTe. In response to the increased interest in these materials, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has been engaged in a cooperative research program with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Fraunhofer Institute for Solid State Technology (IFT), the Institute of Ecotoxicity of the GSF Forschungszentrum fair Umwelt und Gesundheit, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to develop fundamental toxicological and environmental data for these three compounds. This workshop report describes the results of these studies and describes their potential implications with respect to the EH&S risks presented by CIS, CGS, and CdTe module production, use and decommissioning
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Evaluation of selected environmental decision support software
Decision Support Software (DSS) continues to be developed to support analysis of decisions pertaining to environmental management. Decision support systems are computer-based systems that facilitate the use of data, models, and structured decision processes in decision making. The optimal DSS should attempt to integrate, analyze, and present environmental information to remediation project managers in order to select cost-effective cleanup strategies. The optimal system should have a balance between the sophistication needed to address the wide range of complicated sites and site conditions present at DOE facilities, and ease of use (e.g., the system should not require data that is typically unknown and should have robust error checking of problem definition through input, etc.). In the first phase of this study, an extensive review of the literature, the Internet, and discussions with sponsors and developers of DSS led to identification of approximately fifty software packages that met the preceding definition
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A systems approach to risk assessment: Application to methylmercury from coal combustion
The Department of Energy (DOE) asked Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to perform a probabilistic assessment of the health risks associated with Hg from coal-fired power plants. The objective of the assessment is to estimate the incremental health risks that might ensue from a typical coal-fired power plant, together with their uncertainties, taking into account existing background levels and the actual adverse health effects that have previously been associated with exposure to various Hg species. Mercury has a long history of association with adverse neurological effects at high exposure levels. The most important current exposure pathway has been found to be ingestion of fish containing methylmercury (MeHg), which is the end product of bioconcentration moving up the aquatic food chain. Mercury can enter natural waters from either industrial discharges or from atmospheric deposition of various inorganic Ho. compounds. Because of the worldwide background and the existence of local emissions sources, Hg deposition must be considered on local, regional and global scales. The regulatory technical challenge presented by methy1mercury is to protect public health without foreclosing an appreciable a portion of the food supply or impacting on the lifestyles of North American native populations. This paper presents an abbreviated account of the DOE/BNL risk assessment, as viewed from a systems perspective. We review the structure of the model, the sources of data used, the assumptions that were made, and the interpretation of the findings. Since publication of the first risk assessment report, we have refined our estimates of local atmospheric dispersion and deposition and {open_quotes}calibrated{close_quotes} the pharmacokinetic portion of the model against observations