AIKEN, S.C. - Researchers from Florida International University (FIU) are set to return to the Savannah River Site (SRS) to help EM determine the disposition of a local watershed’s contaminated areas.
“We have certainly enjoyed collaborating with the researchers and student interns from FIU, and look forward to their next SRS visit this summer," said Dr. John Seaman, associate director of research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), who helped coordinate the effort. “But more importantly, their efforts provide a great benefit as the SRS decides the ultimate disposition of impacted areas within the Tims Branch watershed."
The team from FIU’s Applied Research Center (ARC) collected samples and data last year for ARC’s Tims Branch surface water and sediment transport modeling research. Dr. Mehrnoosh Mahmoudi led the excursion and was joined by FIU graduate students Natalia Duque, Mohammed Albassam and Juan Morales. They are DOE Fellows in the DOE-FIU Science and Technology Workforce Development Program, which allows students to conduct hands-on applied research to support EM’s cleanup. The DOE Fellows Program links researching solutions for EM’s cleanup challenges to students’ academic goals, such as completing theses and dissertations.
“In this field study, I was able to measure water quality parameters in the A-011 and A-014 outfall tributaries as well as the main Tims Branch stream, which will be an important component for my dissertation. The data was grouped and formatted in a manner to conduct a toxicological watershed assessment of accumulated metals of concern," Morales said. “Participating in this field study allowed me to learn several field measurement techniques and, it allowed us to collect data required for calibration of the hydrological model which I will eventually be using for my dissertation research."
Under a five-year cooperative agreement between EM and FIU, ARC, SREL and Savannah River National Laboratory are developing a comprehensive integrated hydrology and transport model for a tool to assess the fate and transport of contaminants such as mercury and uranium in the Tims Branch watershed during extreme storm events. The site is recovering from Cold War operations.
Their work will provide valuable insight to the monitoring phase following the implementation of the applied remediation technology to remove the mercury contamination in Tims Branch.
“Flow measurement was one of the primary tasks of the SRS field study," Albassam said. “More than 20 measurements were taken in different locations to help us understand the behavior and movement of chemicals and contaminants in the surface water and provide information to calibrate the hydrological model we are developing, which will be one of the main components of my thesis research for a master’s degree in water resources."
ARC intends to apply the model to examine the response of Tims Branch to historical discharges and environmental management remediation actions.
The small-stream ecosystem received discharges containing uranium, mercury, nickel, aluminum and other metals and radionuclides from onsite process and laboratory facilities.
Innovative treatment systems were implemented to limit contaminant fluxes to Tims Branch. A wetland treatment system in 2000 and a mercury removal system in 2007 used tin chloride and air stripping. These eliminated all local mercury inputs to this ecosystem but the tin-based treatment resulted in inert tin oxide particles.
The EM-FIU agreement has allowed the university to develop expertise and specialized facilities through its dedicated scientific and engineering work, which aligns with EM’s mission to accelerate risk reduction and site cleanup.
ARC conducts technical research to support EM’s environmental remediation and student workforce development for high-priority areas, such as radioactive waste processing and facility deactivation and decommissioning.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
