You may or may not approve of the elimination of the world’s dependency on fossil fuels (oil, coal & natural gas) and the pace of the change to renewables (solar and wind) is taking, but they are definitely upon us. It appears that virtue-signaling government personnel and bureaucracies have gotten ahead of available technologies with the exception of Japan and perhaps a few other countries.
The current worldwide preferred technology for cars and trucks to avoid fossil fuels is electric motors and the source of electricity is batteries that require frequent recharging. Recharging requires electricity from the grid and this power is derived from generators powered primarily by fossil fuels. The stated desire is to augment and eventually replace these generators with renewable power from photovoltaic cells (solar) and wind-driven generators. As a side note, current new solar panels transform 20% of the applied sun energy into electricity, stabilizing to 18% shortly after installation.
The obvious problem in the transition to sun and wind use is their intermittent availability. To overcome this deficiency, a huge industry of battery-based energy storage that releases electricity on demand 24/7 is emerging. This storage capacity will require millions if not billions of batteries over and above those needed for vehicles. It’s questionable that even multiple Tesla million-square-foot giga-factories can meet the challenge.
In addition to the production capabilities needed to produce the number of batteries required, is raw materials availability. Sources of items such as Lithium, cobalt, and nickel are questionable as is their very existence. One geologist has stated that there aren’t enough of the necessary elements on the planet to meet the needs. The answer may be to switch to sodium from lithium. Sodium is a close cousin to lithium on the periodic table and is universally available as salt to be mined and in seawater. Metallic sodium does not exist in nature as pure sodium but must be extracted from molten salt (Sodium Chloride) by the Downs Cell method. Sodium-based batteries have a lower power-to-weight ratio than lithium-based, so they are best suited for stationary storage applications thus leaving lithium for vehicles. One interesting source of salt could be the wastewater from seawater reverse osmosis systems. By reclaiming the salt and not returning it to the ocean, permits for large seaside systems to produce drinking water may avoid the negativity by environmentalists.
Interestingly, Japan, in spite of its history, is ramping up its nuclear energy electricity production capabilities to replace shipped-in oil and natural gas. They have a shortage of both wind and solar options because of location, geography, and population density. They have developed smaller, close-to-use reactors and turbine-driven generators. The reactors are totally unique employing closed-loop helium cooling systems to replace water and employ ceramic encapsulation of radioactive core sources that are impervious to heat. Both features address the problems displayed at the Fukushima power plant.
Of additional interest, Japan is betting through Toyota and Honda on electric cars powered by Hydrogen using hydrogen fuel cells as the source of electricity. They have also developed two new methods of producing hydrogen from water. Both processes are electrolysis with one receiving its energy in a loop directly from the small nuclear reactor called high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) and the other called the thermochemical water-splitting iodine-sulfur (IS) process.
It is an acknowledged fact that all humans are the product of what they eat, drink, and breathe. Because food sources, whether plant or animal, are dependent upon water for their existence, water is critical to 2 of the three. Expanding water’s role even more into the breathing realm by considering things such as the aerosol release of viruses and bacteria causing disease spread as in legionnaires disease, water truly impacts our survival at all levels. There is a fixed amount of water on earth as determined by the first law of thermodynamics and it will exist as liquid, solid, or vapor and constantly change between the three. Though much of the water is unusable for sustaining life because of its present chemistry, this can be permanently or temporarily changed by technology.
Where is the investment in intellect and money to more readily and economically provide a more reliable source of usable water through technology? A close examination of business and investment news indicates that much if not most of the investment oxygen in the room is being sucked up by medical, communication, and social media enterprises. One is noble and the others are hardly earth moving in their worth.
Development of Usable Water
Out of necessity, advanced nations in arid areas fine-tune membrane technology (incremental development) of almost 60-year-old technology. The best-known name in the US water industry has little or no R&D and derives most income from a basic technology dating to 1936. Another major international company seemingly exists to provide components to support the 1936 technology. Most recently a huge investment was made by a company staffed by brilliant scientists. Their product is yet another source of materials for the 1936 technology.
Until the world hits a total scarcity of usable water and crisis prevails, apparently private and public investment will continue to be siphoned off elsewhere. A clone of Elon Musk or Steve Jobs is desperately needed as visionaries more so than hardcore investors. Many companies, including ours, have products in stages from idea to embryonic, to proof of concept to field sampled that lie fallow for want of investment and professional guidance.
Perhaps prospects will change when the critical needs of water are severely challenged.
Spoiler alert! With clean water, everyone wins.
A new video is benefiting farmers and regulators alike by taking the mystery out of farm inspections.
The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association collaborated with EPA employees to produce a video that demonstrates what poultry and egg farms can expect when EPA or state inspectors come a-knocking.
The 14-minute video, featuring Mark Zolandz (inspector) and Kelly Shenk (ag advisor) from EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region, helps further the goal of clean rivers and streams, well-managed farms and reverse osmosisbust agricultural industry.
Entitled “Why EPA and States Inspect Farms,” the video promotes a better understanding of the connection between agriculture and clean water. It includes insights into the inspection process and provides information on assistance available to poultry and egg producers to address water quality issues.
The educational video, filmed on location at a turkey farm in reverse osmosisckingham County, Virginia, outlines possible reasons why a farm may be inspected, how the farmers should prepare for the inspection, and how the inspection will likely be structured.
Runoff from farms is a significant source of pollution in rivers and streams. EPA and the states perform inspections to monitor compliance with regulations to protect water quality. They also provide funding and technical assistance to help farmers adopt the best clean water management practices to control pollution.
You can check out more on the making of the video at this link.
About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division
Ralph Spagnolo and Ellen Bryson know their way around the state capitals in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region. The regional Water Protection Division employees have been on the reverse osmosisad helping states launch an innovative online mapping tool that prioritizes sites for watershed preservation or restoration.
They will be in Dover, Delaware this week to debut the Watershed Resources Registry for state employees and others. In past months, they’ve led registry launches in other states in the region, and when Virginia unveils its version of the tool, it will be a clean sweep in the Mid-Atlantic.
What’s all the fuss about?
Volumes of data and information are entered by federal, state and local agencies and non-profit groups into a user-friendly Geographic Information System (GIS). Using the GIS tool, decision-makers can pinpoint the most appropriate areas for protecting and restoring watershed lands and improving stormwater management. For stormwater management, most companies also use a dedicated inspection tool in addition to GIS technology.
The data fed into the system ranges from soil type, land cover and flood plains to impaired and high-quality streams, protected lands and wetlands inventories. The tool allows users to identify locations, assess and compare potential projects and their environmental impacts, print site maps for field visits, and share information. It also helps to streamline the permitting process and provide transparency in site selection.
The registry is especially useful for developers, natural resource and transportation planners and others who are required to avoid impacting natural areas or to provide mitigation for any unavoidable impacts.
In February, an updated registry was made available to the public. Check it out and see how teams of partners are working to protect watershed lands.
About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division.
Jeremy Hinton is an eighth-generation Kentucky farmer and concerned with the EPA’s, “Waters of the US” legislation. He and his wife Joanna own Hinton’s Orchard and Farm Market in Hodgenville, Kentucky – the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. “Our family came to LaRue County the same year that the Lincolns did, but we just stayed a lot longer,” he joked.
Today, Hinton and his wife grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables which they sell at their two retail markets – one on the farm and one in nearby Elizabethtown. They are able to grow this wide variety thanks to all their up-to-date equipment, which they procure from places like Costex so that they can efficiently grow and provide crops for their shops. They are also actively involved in agritourism, hosting school tours and festivals as well as building their own corn maze. And, as if he doesn’t already have enough to do, Hinton sells crop insurance to farmers in the area. Such farming processes generally require advanced machinery like tractors, mowers, and harvesters. Furthermore, these vehicles often require servicing and maintenance in order to work to their full potential. For example, new farm tractor tires might be required due to the wear and tear caused by overutilization of tractor.
Along with the use of reliable and advanced farm machinery, farmers could also be updated on the various kinds of technology and agriculture software solutions that could help streamline their business further and implement the policies made by the State more effectively. As Hinton also knows firsthand how policies emanating from Washington impact farmers and other small businesses in Kentucky, he might be able to help the locals in this regard. He believes that some of the policies of the previous administration, if gone to fruition, “could have been very detrimental to our business and lots of others.” “There was a good bit of concern about the waters in the US,” he said. Other policies, like the previous administration’s changes to worker protection standards, “could have been very difficult to implement on a farm like ours.”
But the EPA’s regulatory reform efforts under Administrator Scott Pruitt have “increased optimism about the future,” stated Hinton. He also believes that there is a new, more friendly and cooperative attitude at EPA toward farmers – one that appreciates the environmental stewardship they practice day in and day out. As Administrator Pruitt likes to say, farmers are among our nation’s first environmentalists and conservationists and protectors of the waters of the US.
“Our operation, like any farm, wants to do the best that we can to protect our natural resources,” Hinton said. “That’s our livelihood.” He and his wife raise their three children on the farm and hope that someday they will become the next generation of Kentucky farmers.
This week, EPA is recognizing and celebrating National Small Business Week. Small businesses, like the Hinton’s Orchard and Farm Market, are the heart of our nation’s economy. EPA is committed to advancing policies that protect the environment and provide small businesses with the regulatory clarity and certainty they need to thrive and support local communities around the nation.
Stormwater Runoff Management.
It’s a four-peat.
For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Maryland, College Park has won high honors in EPA’s Campus RainWorks Challenge, a national collegiate competition to design the best ideas for capturing stormwater on campus before it can harm waterways.
A UMD team took second place nationally in the Master Plan category for “The Champion Gateway” project. The project blends green infrastructure features into a campus entryway and pedestrian corridor adjacent to a proposed light rail system.
Along with providing more aesthetic appeal, the 7.9-acre site design – with its 367 new trees, permeable pavement, bioswales, rain garden, and soil improvements – generates some heady environmental benefits, like:
- A 40 percent increase in the tree canopy and a reduction in stormwater runoff of 44 percent.
- An increase in the permeable surface from 5 to 74 percent.
- The removal of 273 pounds of air pollutants and the sequestering of 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide – each year.
Green infrastructure allows stormwater to soak in rather than run off hard surfaces with contaminants in tow, flooding local streets and polluting local waters.
Chalking up impressive design numbers and wowing the judges is nothing new for UMD teams in the Campus RainWorks Challenge.
The university won first place awards in 2015 and 2016 for designs to retrofit a five-acre parking lot and to capture and treat stormwater on a seven-acre site next to the campus chapel, and won a second-place award last year for its “(Un)loading Nutrients” design to transform a campus loading dock and adjacent parking lot into a safer pedestrian walkway with 6,660 square feet of plantings and 18 percent less impervious surface.
Dr. Victoria Chanse, a faculty advisor to all four UMD winning teams, said the competition “serves as an ongoing catalyst to encourage universities to develop innovative, sustainable learning landscapes that draw upon collaborations among students and faculty from a diverse set of disciplines.”
Check out more information on how stormwater runoff impacts your community.
by Tom Damm
About the Author: Tom Damm has been with EPA since 2002 and now serves as communications coordinator for the region’s Water Protection Division
Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are intended to explain EPA policy. They do not change anyone’s rights or obligations. You may share this post. However, please do not change the title or the content, or remove EPA’s identity as the author. If you do make substantive changes, please do not attribute the edited title or content to EPA or the author.
Across the U.S., there is a growing epidemic of harmful algal blooms – also known as blue-green algae – polluting lakes, rivers and swimming holes, EWG reported this month.
It is unlikely you would let your kids or pets swim in smelly, slime-covered water. But even playing along the shoreline is ill-advised when there is a bloom. This is particularly important advice if you live somewhere like Rock Lake, Ontario where your children are likely to be spending a lot of time near water. Furthermore, if an emergency does happen it’s crucial that you or someone in your group knows first aid. Being prepared to respond to a situation is so important as you can never determine how long an emergency medical response will take to come. If you’d be interested in first aid training, then you could consider a course in Hamilton CPR Training with a dedicated training organization like C2C First Aid & Aquatics Inc. Accordingly, here are the facts you need to know before your family’s lake or beach vacation.
How can I identify a harmful algal bloom?
It can be hard to tell by looking if a pond is full of toxic algae or innocuous plant material. Scientists and public health officials use specialized tests to identify harmful algal blooms and to determine when the risk of algal toxins has passed.
But when pond or lake water looks like green soup, it is likely full of tiny blue-green algae. These organisms are an ancient type of bacteria, called cyanobacteria. They grow wherever there is water.
Unlike other types of bacteria, which can make children and adults sick by infection, cyanobacteria can make people sick through the toxic substances they produce. These cyanotoxins can cause rashes, itching, vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches. In rare cases, water laced with cyanobacteria and their toxins can cause seizures, paralysis, and liver failure, which can kill a human or a pet.
For families with children and pets, it is best to avoid all bodies of water that look green and overgrown. They may contain toxin-producing cyanobacteria.
Tip: Read and follow any posted warnings. If the lake or pond looks green or another strong color such as blue, yellow, or brown, it’s best to avoid it. The water may or may not contain harmful cyanotoxins, but it’s better to err on the side of caution.
Can my children play near a lake or pond with an algal bloom?
When a lake has a harmful algal bloom, cyanotoxins can be found in the water and in algal scum on the shore. Activities like boating and waterskiing, or waves crashing on the beach, can release cyanotoxins into the air above and around contaminated lakes.
Swimming is the most worrisome activity because children and youth might swallow a few gulps of contaminated water. In 2002, a teenage boy died in Wisconsin after swimming in a golf course pond covered with blue-green algae. Such severe poisonings are rare, but children across the United States are at risk from accidental exposures.
Even when they don’t swim in contaminated water, children are especially vulnerable to cyanotoxins. Children might inhale cyanotoxins when playing along the shoreline, boating, or splashing in the water. Small children often put their hands in their mouths – this can be dangerous if they’ve touched algal scum on the shoreline or in the water.
Tip: Just touching the water or playing in the sand next to an algae-filled lake could cause coughing, rashes, and itching in children.
Tip: Warn teens about algal blooms if they are visiting a lake or pond without adult supervision.
What happens if you have accidental contact with toxic algae?
Watch out for symptoms that may seem like the flu or a GI infection. This includes vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, weakness, cramping, and headaches. Symptoms can develop within a few hours of exposure. Seek immediate medical attention if you suspect you or your child has been exposed to a harmful algal bloom. Physicians can report algal poisoning events to state agencies that test water and post warning signs.
Tip: If you think your child has come in contact with an algal bloom, rinse their body with water and make sure they drink plenty of water as soon as possible.
Tip: Pay close attention if your child has unusual symptoms after playing in or on the water. Contact your physician or local Poison Control Center for advice.
Can my family go fishing?
If you are going fishing, it’s best to head to a flowing body of water like a river. Otherwise, choose a lake or pond that isn’t covered in scum, and read local fish advisories.
When cyanotoxin levels are high, you may see dead fish floating in the water. Fish can absorb these poisonous substances, so eating a fish caught in algae-laden water could be like swallowing a spoonful of lake water itself. Cooking fish does not destroy cyanotoxins.
Can my family go camping?
Water purification during camping is key! Boiling water kills cyanobacteria, but does not destroy their harmful toxins. Avoid using such water for cooking or drinking, even if it’s been boiled. Public health agencies recommend avoiding all lake and pond water when it looks cloudy. This includes using it to rinse dishes or bathe. It’s a wise idea to always carry Hand Sanitizer if you do go camping in an area with this toxic water so that if you do happen to come across it and touch it, you can kill as many germs as possible.
How widespread is the problem?
Cyanotoxin poisonings are likely underreported for two reasons: They’re difficult to diagnose and there is no national reporting system. EWG’s analysis found that, since 2010, nearly 300 blooms have been recorded in lakes, rivers, and bays in 48 states, which are displayed in our interactive map.
Some states have their own monitoring programs. In 2015, a New York state pilot program reported 32 cases of algal bloom-associated illnesses for individuals of all ages. The youngest person affected was 2 years old. People affected by cyanotoxins in the New York study experienced rashes, coughing, abdominal pains, nausea and vomiting. No people required hospitalization, but two dogs died.
In recent years, harmful algal blooms have erupted in every state. In 2017 alone, California authorities posted 141 advisory signs near different bodies of water to warn people to avoid them. In 2016, Florida declared a state of emergency in four counties affected by a huge algal bloom.
And harmful algal blooms aren’t just a problem in freshwater – they can also be found in saltwater and brackish water. So, people heading to lakeside cottages with their families or pets should be especially careful. Visiting a cottage with a dog and your kids is meant to be a fun and carefree experience, but algal blooms seem to be getting in the way of that.
Why do toxic algal blooms form?
Toxic algal blooms occur when chemical pollution from farms and other sources runs off into neighboring bodies of water. While algal blooms can happen naturally, the recent spike is indisputably linked to farm pollution. When fertilizer and animal manure runoff into lakes, streams, and bays, fertilizer chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorus can spur the unchecked growth of cyanobacteria.
Algal bloom and children’s health expert Todd Miller, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, called algal blooms “a symptom of a larger problem we have with inadequate protections for water resources and improper land management,” in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Billions of pounds of fertilizers and manure are applied to farm fields every year. The fields must be carefully managed and protected to keep these chemicals from washing off fields into ponds, lakes, and rivers. Right now, we rely on farmers to voluntarily take steps to stem pollution, but far too many aren’t doing what’s needed. The long-term solution to the toxic algal bloom problem is ensuring that all farming operations meet basic standards of care for water, and stop fertilizer from running off fields.
For more information, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s resources.
The EPA has made a preliminary determination to regulate strontium in the nation’s drinking water and will evaluate public feedback following a 60-day public comment period in order to determine whether to issue a final determination to regulate strontium.
If this determination will be made, the EPA will begin the process of developing a proposed rule, with hopes of publishing the final regulatory determinations in 2015, as mentioned in the October 20th, 2014 news release.
The press release also mentions 4 other contaminants (dimethoate, 1,3 dinitrobenzene, terbufos, and terbufos sulfone), which do not require regulation at this time, as they are either not found or are found at low levels of occurrence in public water systems.
What Is Strontium and How Does It Affect Our Health?
Strontium is a natural and commonly occurring element, usually found in nature in the form of minerals. Pure strontium is a hard, white-colored metal, but cannot be found in this form in the environment. There are 2 types of strontium compounds: those that dissolve in water and those that do not. Strontium can also exist as radioactive isotopes, with strontium-90 being the most hazardous of the radioactive isotopes of this chemical element. It forms in nuclear reactors or during the explosion of nuclear weapons.
Strontium-90 is used in medical and agricultural studies, thermoelectric devices, navigational beacons, remote weather stations and space vehicles, electron tubes, radioluminescent markers, and for the treatment of eye diseases. Appearing adjacent to calcium on the Periodic Table of Elements, strontium is not toxic. However, it has the ability to displace calcium in the bones of humans and animals, which can result in poor bone quality and/or bone development issues in infants.
Because strontium is so prevalent in the earth’s crust it appears in an estimated 99% of municipal water supplies and further estimated that 10% of all sources will have levels deemed excessive.
Strontium-90 behaves like calcium in the human body and tends to deposit in bone and bloodforming tissue (bone marrow). Thus, strontium-90 is referred to as a “bone seeker,” and exposure will increase the risk for several diseases including bone cancer, cancer of the soft tissue near the bone, and leukemia. Risks from exposure depend on the concentration of strontium-90 in air, water, and soil. At higher exposures, such as those associated with the Chernobyl accident, the cancer risks may be elevated. The magnitude of this health risk would depend on exposure conditions, such as the amount ingested.
Has the EPA made Any Recommendations to Protect Human Health?
The EPA has established a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 4 millirems per year for beta particle and photon radioactivity from man-made radionuclides in drinking water. The average concentration for strontium-90 that is assumed to yield 4 millirems per year is 8 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L). Also, if other radionuclides that emit beta particles and photon radioactivity are present in addition to strontium-90, the sum of the annual dose from all the radionuclides cannot exceed 4 millirems/year.
Removing Radioactive or Natural Strontium from Water
Conventional treatment was not effective at removing strontium from the water but the following processes were found to be highly effective for the removal of radioactive or natural strontium:
- adsorptive media: up to 99% removal
- reverse osmosis: >99% removal
- ion exchange: greater than 99% removal
A number of adsorptive media were effective for studies with strontium-90, with a synthetic zeolite being most effective at 75-80% removal and bentonite clay at higher pH (7.4 to 8), removing 85-90% of the strontium-90 from water. Hydrated manganese oxide at higher pH (8 to 10) was most effective at removing natural strontium, with 90-92% removal.
Removal of strontium-90 by 2 cation exchange media was found to be highly effective, greater than 99% removal in one case, based on one study involving bench-scale isotherm tests using groundwater. Also, removal improved with contact time. Ion exchange has proven to be the Best Available Technology for the control of beta particle emitters like strontium-90.
Natural strontium was effectively removed with membrane separation (97 to greater than 99%) and reverse osmosis is the Best Available Technology for the control of beta particle emitters like radioactive strontium. Call us at 760.734.5787 and get in touch with one of our water experts today to learn more about strontium and how to remove it from your water!
Resources:
- http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=654&tid=120
- https://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclide-basics-strontium-90
