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Table of Contents
To view current faculty research visit our Recent Research page.
To view all previously funded research, please visit our Annual Report Archive.
Impacts of Organic Matter Heterogeneity on Desorption and Availability of Sediment-Bound PCBs
Assistant Professor Weilin Huang with Assistant Professor Lisa Totten
Department of Environmental Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
This study will quantify the rates of desorption of toxic compounds known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from various natural organic matter fractions of sediments from the estuarine portion of the Hudson River, thereby predicting the bioavailability of sediment-associated PCBs in the Estuary. The results of this research will increase understanding of the cycling and bioavailability of PCBs in the Hudson River/Estuary system and will aid water quality modelers in developing bioaccumulation models in support of the ongoing effort to develop a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) for PCBs in the Estuary.
This research will also facilitate an interpretation of the environmental risks associated with the dredging of portions of the Upper Hudson that is scheduled to occur in the next few years as part of the Record of Decision between USEPA and General Electric (USEPA 2001). This dredging may lead to the resuspension and mobilization of substantial amounts of PCB-contaminated sediment in the Upper Hudson . This research will provide a quantitative approach for evaluating the impact of this resuspended sediment on PCB bioavailability in the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary. In addition, the results of this research should be applicable to estuarine systems in general.
This study will investigate the role of each of the three sediment organic matter (SOM) fractions in the desorption and bioavailability of PCBs bound on sediments. The major hypotheses are that the sediments in the Hudson River Estuary and NJ/NY Harbor contain both coaly material and black carbon, and that these types of particulate organic matter (POMs) dominate the desorption and environmental availability of bound PCBs.
Contact information:
Dr. Weilin Huang
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 X6206; Fax: (732) 932-8644
Email: whuang@envsci.rutgers.edu
Dr. Lisa Totten
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 X6218; Fax: (732) 932-8644
Email: totten@envsci.rutgers.edu
A Study to Link Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition with Surface and Ground Water Nitrogen and Denitrification Capabilities in an Urban New Jersey Wetland
Barbara Turpin1, Sybil Seitzinger2 and Beth Ravit3
1Department of Environmental Sciences
2Institute for Marine and Coastal Science
3Environmental Science Graduate Program
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Wetlands play an important role in efforts to reduce both the amount and the impact of excess nitrogen (N) that emanates from anthropogenic sources, those related to human development. Excess N release has led to elevated nitrate (NO3-) levels in both surface and ground waters in much of the country (Boyer et al. 2002, Mosier et al. 2002, Carpenter et al. 1998, Howarth et al. 1996). Nitrate is water soluble and once this pollutant is released it easily moves through watersheds, ultimately entering coastal estuaries, where excess N leads to eutrophication, oxygen depletion due to excessive nutrients.
Urban sources of N inputs to surface and ground waters include extensive use of fertilizers, animal waste, septic systems, leaking sewer pipes, and vehicle exhaust to the atmosphere (Luo et al. 2003), while anthropogenic alterations of urban wetland hydrology may lead to a reduction in system denitrification capacity (Groffman et al. 2002). Recent studies have documented increased surface and ground water N loadings in the NY/NJ metropolitan region as a result of atmospheric deposition (Gregg et al. 2003, Castro et al. 2003). Wetlands contribute to the amelioration of this problem by converting organic and inorganic N species to an inert gaseous form through the microbially mediated process of denitrification (Mitsch & Jorgensen 2004, Kadlec & Knight 1996). The wetland denitrification function is especially important to humans living in heavily urbanized areas such New Jersey, where concentrations of NO3- in surface waters tend to increase as the percent of urban land use increases (USGS 2001).
Teaneck Creek Conservancy (hereafter “TCC”), a private non-profit organization, has been granted a long-term license to manage a 46-acre site within the Bergen County Park system. Supported by funding from the NJ Wetland Mitigation Council (NJWMC), TCC has subcontracted with Rutgers University, USGS, and TRC Omni Environmental Corporation to restore and enhance 20 acres of urban wetlands within the public park.
The overall goal of the Teaneck Creek restoration project is to maximize system denitrification capabilities following wetland enhancement and restoration. The objectives of the baseline monitoring studies are to determine the concentration of organic and inorganic N entering and leaving the Teaneck Creek system, and to measure the denitrification capabilities of the system pre- and post-restoration. These values will be combined in an “Urban Hydrologic Model,” which will link surface and ground water hydrology, atmospheric N deposition and denitrification within the Teaneck Creek Conservancy system.
Expected results of the atmospheric N deposition research include increased knowledge related to the amounts, and potentially the sources, of atmospheric N deposition into a highly urbanized NJ wetland system. The specific objectives of this proposal are to characterize the amounts and the chemical composition of total N species, inorganic and organic, present in the atmospheric wet and dry N deposition within the Teaneck Creek site.
Contact Information:
Associate Professor Barbara Turpin
Dept. of Environmental Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 X6219; Fax: 732.932.8644
Email: turpin@envsci.rutgers.edu
Professor Sybil Seitzinger
Institute for Marine and Coastal Science
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-6555 X342; Fax: (732) 932-1792
Email: sybil@marine.rutgers.edu
Dr. Beth Ravit
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (201) 774-1614; Fax: (201) 767-6931
Email: ravit@aesop.rutgers.edu
Fate of Brominated Flame Retardants in New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Donna E. Fennell,
Lisa A. Totten, and
Uta Krogmann
Department of Environmental Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF) are called upon to prevent macropollutants such as biochemical oxygen demand, nitrogen and phosphorous from entering aquatic systems. Increasingly they are also expected to remove trace persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals (PBTs). This class of chemicals includes emerging pollutants such as the brominated flame retardants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (CDD/Fs), PBDEs are hydrophobic, associated with organic matter, and are resistant to aerobic degradation. Thus these compounds tend to accumulate in wastewater treatment sludges.
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Chemical structure of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). The compound may contain up to 10 bromine substituents. |
Few data are available on concentrations of PBDEs in sewage, sludges and biosolids (treated sewage sludge). We will document the presence and level of PBDEs in New Jersey sewage, sludges and biosolids from selected WWTF. Additionally, we will determine whether environmentally relevant congeners of PBDEs are transformed or detoxified during anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic bacterial dehalogenation has been shown to be an effective method of removal or detoxification of halogenated environmental pollutants in groundwater, soils and sediments. Exploitation of dehalogenating bacteria for detoxification during anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater treatment sludges may also be possible.
For example, the bacterium Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195 was originally isolated from an anaerobic digester enrichment. This organism dehalogenates tetrachloroethene (PCE) to vinyl chloride (VC) and ethene, an environmentally acceptable end product. D. ethenogenes strain 195 also exhibits diverse dechlorination ability on a wide range of aromatic pollutants including selected congeners of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, chlorinated dibenzofurans, chlorinated biphenyls and chlorinated naphthalenes. In a related NJWRRI-funded study, an anaerobic digester mixed culture enrichment containing D. ethenogenes strain 195 dehalogenated a hexachlorodibenzofuran congener, however it did not dehalogenate octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or the flame retardant decabromodiphenyl ether. Municipal anaerobic digester sludges from four New Jersey wastewater treatment facilities were examined for the presence of Dehalococcoides. Dehalococcoides-like bacteria were not detected by direct or nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of community DNA using Dehalococcides-specific PCR primers. Tetrachloroethene added to the sludges was dehalogenated to trichloroethene and dichloroethene with no formation of vinyl chloride or ethene. This dechlorination pattern may indicate the presence of dehalogenating bacteria other than Dehalococcoides. On-going experiments are examining dehalogenation of decabromodiphenyl ether in the sludges.
Contact Information:
Assistant Professor Donna E. Fennell
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 X6204; Fax: (732) 932-8644
E-mail: fennell@envsci.rutgers.edu
Assistant Professor Lisa A. Totten
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 X6218; Fax: (732) 932-8644
E-mail: totten@envsci.rutgers.edu
Associate Professor Uta Krogmann
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9800 X6207; Fax: (732) 932-8644
E-mail: krogmann@envsci.rutgers.edu
High-resolution geophysical imaging as a novel method for non-invasive characterization of contaminated wetlands: application to Kearny Marsh
Lee D. Slater
Earth & Environmental Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
High-resolution geophysical techniques have been adopted for the investigation of contaminated, shallow water wetlands. Our research site is Kearny Marsh, a freshwater wetland within the Hackensack Meadowlands of New Jersey. The geophysical technologies employed in this study include (1) rapid reconnaissance mapping with terrain conductivity and magnetic gradiometry, and (2) automated, continuous acquisition, electrical imaging surveys. The reconnaissance surveys have defined the spatial extent of contaminant sources entering the marsh and shed new light on the primary source zones impacting this wetland. The in survey electrical imaging has constrained the vertical dimensions of suspected source zones and is currently being used in a time-lapse mode to detect contaminant fluxes from source zones.
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Contact Information:
Assistant Professor Lee D. Slater
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark
Telephone: (973) 353-5109
Email: lslater@andromeda.rutgers.edu
Fiscal Year 2003
Investigation of Design Parameters for Engineered
Rhizoremediation Systems
to Treat Contaminated Sediments In Situ
Professor Jerome Kukor1 and Professor Max Häggblom2
1Biotechnology Ctr for Ag. & Env
2Dept of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
This study investigates bioremediation of New Jersey sediments contaminated with a complex mixture of organic pollutants related to human usages. Researchers are studying the development of engineered rhizoremediation systems in which plants adapted to estuarine habitats, namely Spartina alterniflora, are combined with microbe mixtures designed for particular contaminants. The basic hypothesis being tested is that microbial degradative activity towards target pollutants will be enhanced in the rhizosphere, the environmental area influenced by plant roots, as a consequence of oxygen cycling and nutrient provision from the plant’s root system.
Contact Information:
Professor Jerome Kukor
Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-8165 X318; Fax: (732) 932-0312
E-mail: kukor@aesop.rutgers.edu
Professor Max M. Häggblom
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Telephone: (732) 932-9763 X326; Fax: (732) 932-8965
Email: haggblom@aesop.rutgers.edu
Automated Identification and Quantification of VOCs Using Electronic Nose Systems
Dr. Robi Polikar1 and Dr. Kauser Jahan2
1Electrical and Computer Engineering
2Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rowan University
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are found in almost all natural and synthetic materials, and often enter New Jersey surface waters through accidental spills of fuel products or industrial solvents, and urban runoff. Potential health hazards and environmental degradation resulting from the widespread use of VOCs has prompted increasing concern. However, analytical detection of such VOCs in a laboratory setting requires advanced, expensive and bulky equipment, such as gas chromatographs or mass spectrometers, and since this equipment are not portable, they cannot be deployed in the field.
There is need for a chemical analysis scheme that is objective, fast, accurate, cost effective, quantifiable, and field deployable; this would be of invaluable benefit in assessing water quality. This project investigates a recent technology that has spurred interest in measurement and detection of VOCs: the Electronic Nose (Enose) technology.
The researcher sought to develop an artificial neural network based automated system for objective, fast, and accurate identification of VOCs that appear in mixtures. In this project, attention was restricted to binary mixtures of VOCs, whose measurements are made by QCM type chemical sensors.
Associate Professor Robi Polikar
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Rowan University
Telephone: (856) 256-5372
E-mail: polikar@rowan.edu
Professor Kauser Jahan
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rowan University
Telephone: (856) 256-5323
Email: jahan@rowan.edu
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