SMoCS 2013 projects

The 2013 SMoCS (Science and Management of Contaminated Sites) classes are now complete.  The final projects were quite impressive.  They included a modeling project of PCB accumulation in mussels, a lab based experiment investigating the relationship between odor and toxicity in groundwater samples, a documentary on MTCA (Model Toxics Cleanup Act) and public participation, a documentary on a cleanup in Washington State, and a comic book on MTCA.

The links to the two documentaries are here:

MTCA and Public Participation

The Skykomish Cleanup

And here is the comic book:
The People Take a Stand Against Contaminon!

Let me know what you think - especially the comic book.  We're interested in how this format works as a way to communicate complex scientific and regulatory information.  Thanks!

 

Pacific Northwest SETAC

Last month, a group of SMoCS and my lab research students went to Spokane for the regional SETAC conference.   It is always a nice experience to see a scientific conference for the first time through the eyes of students.  They start to understand what scientific professionals do, what this world is like...  This year was no exception.

There was a mining tour of the Coeur D'Alene valley on Thursday (I had to miss it because of teaching obligations, which I was SO bummed about), but the students were excited about what they had seen (they had made an agreement not to tell me how cool it was, knowing I would be disappointed that I missed it, but they were bubbling over with excitement and within 5 minutes of my arrival had already spilled the beans).  One of the students wrote a summary of the trip, which will be in the Spring/Summer 2013 regional newsletter. 

The lab research students did a great job with an oral presentation and 2 poster presentations.  One of the undergraduate students won "Best Undergraduate Poster" for her work on lichens as bioindicators of air pollution near train tracks.  (This student also just won an Outstanding poster award at the WWU Scholar's Week poster fair!). 

Hanford Take 2

We had 13 students in the Tri-Cities last week for a tour of Hanford and meetings with professionals who work in Richland on nuclear issues.  The tour was hosted by the Department of Energy and was so much fun.  I've been 3 times now and learn so much every time I go.

For many of the students, the highlights were Reactor B (soon to be a National Park) and the pump and treat system (where they pump contaminated groundwater out of the ground, treat it and pump it back into the ground).  All of this was a direct application of what the students have been learning in class (!).

The second day was, in some ways, even more interesting.  Dr. James Conca was gracious enough to meet us for breakfast and an early morning lecture.  We learned about nuclear waste and what the options are for disposing of it.  This included discussions of the Vitrification plant being built at Hanford, Yucca Mountain (no longer an option) and WIPP.  We also met with Anna King (NPR!).  She gave great advice to students on how journalists and scientists can best interact with each other.

We are fortunate to have so many people willing to help with the learning experience.  Thanks!

SMoCS updates!

Another amazing group of students are finishing up their second quarter of SMoCS.  The group projects they are working on are going to be something to behold - a comic book about MTCA, two documentaries, a lab project, and a modeling project.  We were able to blend journalism students with the environmental science students - making for some great collaborative relationships.  Stay tuned!

The newsletter for the Winter quarter SMoCS is out with a few contributions from the students :)

Field trip to Hanford and PNNL

We had a great field trip this week with several of the students from the Science and Management of Contaminated Sites (SMoCS) class.  It was ten hours round trip, 2 vans, and 1 night with tours of the PNNL labs and Hanford.  We saw Dr. Nik Qafoku's labs where different waste forms are investigated.  The waste forms are the different ways that waste can be stored.  Vitrification, for example, essentially turns the waste into glass - that is one waste form. We also saw the 300 Area IFRC Field Test Site.  This is a site with uranium contamination in the ground water that PNNL scientists are studying.  On the second day, we toured Hanford and saw Reactor B, the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (another name for the landfill where all of the low level radioactive waste is going), the vitrification plant, and a pump and treat plant. Really neat to see the science behind all of this! 

Pacific Northwest SETAC

The regional SETAC meeting was in Vancouver, BC April 26-28.  As always, it was well attended.  The WWU students were present with about 19 current undergrads and several students from previous years (I counted 5 generations of students from 2003 on, when I started at WWU).

I had three student groups presenting posters of their senior theses.  Their topics were Ag nanoparticle toxicity to Vibrio fischeri, snow chemistry from the Mt. Baker wilderness near snow mobile trails, and the effects of temperature on Ag, Cr, and Cu toxicity to Lemna turionifera.  This last poster won 3rd place for undergrads!

Final SMoCS presentation for Winter quarter

On March 15,

Site Visit to the ESY Site

About 32 students went to the Port of Everett today to visit our site (the Everett Shipyard) for the SMoCS courses. We met representatives of the Port, who is responsible for the cleanup activities of the site. They presented background information about the Port, the site, and MTCA and then took us on a tour of the site. We saw the marine railway where boats were removed from the water and the areas where maintenance on the boats was conducted. The contaminated material from sand blasting was still present on site, which was interesting for the students to see. Our tour guides also showed up the new boat storage area, where all surface run-off is collected in underground tanks and sent to the municipal water treatment facility, essentially eliminating non-point source run-off from the site.

New SMoCS courses at Huxley

The new Science and Management of Contaminated Sites (SMoCS) courses started today. Almost 40 students from Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies and Journalism are enrolled. The students are in for a great quarter as we learn about the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), which is the Washington State regulations through which some contaminated sites are cleaned up. We are focusing on the Everett Shipyard (ESY) site this quarter.` I'll have occasional posts about the course here.