The objective of this project is to study the effects of electron beam irradiation on contaminants of water to determine engineering design parameters for design of decontamination systems based on use of this concept. This project involves use of a 1.5 million volt electron accelerator with a beam current of 50 milliamperes located at the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Authority's Wastewater Treatment Plant on Virginia Key in Miami, Florida. This accelerator was installed originally to obtain engineering design parameters for full-scale use of electron-beam irradiation to disinfect sludges derived from treatment of wastewater. Having served this purpose, it has become available for use in conduct of additional research. An initial phase of this project includes detailed assessment of the readiness-status of the accelerator and associated equipment, design of potential modifications to meet this project's objective, and to conduct a workshop/conference to assist in modification of the research plan to take full advantage of recent advances in knowledge regarding the application of ionizing radiation for this and related purposes. A system for decontamination of water supplies contaminated by organic substances could be responsive to the problem of widespread contamination of groundwater aquifers and surface water supplies of the United States caused by improper management of hazardous wastes, leaking underground storage tanks for petroleum products and solvents, and accidental spills of chemicals in transit to users. This unit that has been made available for conduct of research to the University of Miami and Florida International University offers a unique capability to operate an irradiation system at a sufficiently large scale to obtain data for engineering design of decontamination systems utilizing knowledge gained through its operation and that of smaller, bench-scale sources of ionizing radiation.
