NSF Award
0803703
ABSTRACT<br/><br/>0803703 Berdanier Monitoring, Modeling, Control, and Ultimate Disposal of Heavy Metal Contaminants in the Environment<br/><br/>Ohio Northern University (ONU) is awarded $29,664 over 12 months in travel and participant support to travel to the Edernet mine in Mongolia to characterize primary environmental contamination vectors by sampling and assessing the feasibility of adsorption properties presented by naturally occurring zeolites in the Mongolian countryside. Participants include the PI, Dr. Bruce Berdanier, Professor of Civil Engineering at ONU, M.R. Hansen, Professor of Civil Engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSMT), Charles Tinant, Science Outreach Coordinator and Instructor at Oglala Lakota College (OLC), and three U.S. undergraduate students. Lead foreign counterpart investigators are Tsevel Samdaag, Professor of Civil Engineering, Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST), Darkhan, Mongolia; and, Anf Ziadat, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Mutah University (MUJ), Al Karak, Jordan. <br/><br/>Objectives of the planning visit include investigating the feasibility of developing a proposal to: 1) develop an experimental model of aeolean sediment transport of mine tailings in order to evaluate the efficiency of fly ash incorporation into the waste stream in reducing offsite migration of heavy metals; 2) determine the fundamental interfacial chemistry relationships controlling heavy metal occurrence and distribution; and 3) investigate the efficiency of bio-indicators (e.g., tree bark; lichen) in the passive monitoring of heavy metals contamination concrete mortar for ultimate disposal. The PIs also intend to determine the feasibility of establishing an international REU site based at Oglala Lakota College on these themes.
