Valuable predictions of hydrophobic organic compound fate and transport in lakes and fresh water estuary systems can be obtained by using this unique proposed collaborative research and teaching approach of combining fate processes (e.g., biodegradation, photodegradation, and sorption/desorption processes) with an appropriate hydrodynamic model. By identifying and understanding components that contribute to the fate processes, and by developing ways to identify these components in natural waters, more efficient remediation assessment of the contaminated environment is possible. Understanding how hydrophobic organic compounds influence the contaminated environment is critical to 1) assessing fate processes; 2) developing accurate models; 3) developing accurate analytical methods; and 4) predicting remediation alternatives when contamination does occur. The environmentally-relevant hydrophobic organic compound, benzidine, will be used as a model system to provide new insight into the fate and transport of hydrophobic organic compounds in general. Like many hydrophobic organic compounds, benzidine partitions preferentially to (sediment) particles in lake systems. As such, its behavior in these systems is significally affected by the movement of sediments (e.g., hydrodynamics of the lake).
The basic knowledge obtained is likely to be of long-lasting value. The general long-term implications include advancement in the design of new transport models that take into account fate processes, as well as prediction of hydrophobic organic compound movement via point-source release and implications thereafter. Therefore, this could be used as a tool for the prediction of the effects of remediation alternatives on the ecosystem which surround the area of contaminated sediment. In addition, the economic benefits of predicting remediation alternatives will include increasing the ability to predict contaminant accumulation spots, better and more accurate monitoring of the accumulation of hydrophobic organic compounds in lakes, and lastly being able to target more accurately the costly sediment remediation procedures within the lake area.
The PI will train undergraduate and graduate students from several different disciplines (e.g., environmental engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, earth and environmental sciences, and biology) to this interdisciplinary research. She has volunteered to organize and advise Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's new, dual-organization student chapter of the Air and Waste Management/Water Environment Federation (A&WMA/WEF). Additionally, high school students will be exposed to environmental engineering and especially women and minority students in high schools will be mentored to encourage careers in environmental engineering and to improve the enrollment of traditionally underrepresented groups in engineering fields.
