Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Fracking poses uranium contamination risk, researchers say - SmartPlanet
Researchers are raising another concern to the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing: uranium contamination.
Speaking today at a Geological Society of America meeting, geologists are presenting research suggesting the natural gas extraction method may disturb uranium deposits, which occur naturally in Marcellus shale.
“Hydrofracking” or “fracking” is usually criticized for the often undisclosed chemicals it uses during the process of injecting water and sand into natural gas wells at high pressure. This is done to fracture tight shale formations and release the natural gas. That the chemicals may leach into groundwater is the main concern, and something the EPA relaunched an investigation into recently. Just last week, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell banned fracking on state land (though most occurs on private land in PA).
Groundwater is also on the minds of a team of geologists from the University of Buffalo, but in regard to uranium contamination. Scanning shale surfaces taken from Pennsylvania and western New York, they created a chemical map of the rock revealing that its uranium and hydrocarbons were located together.
Lead researcher Tracy Banks says in a statement:
We found that the uranium and the hydrocarbons are in the same physical space. We found that they are not just physically but also chemically bound. That led me to believe that uranium in solution could be more of an issue because the process of drilling to extract the hydrocarbons could start mobilizing the metals as well, forcing them into the soluble phase and causing them to move around.
Experimenting with some drilling fluids used in the industry, they found that they did react with uranium, in their lab. How much, if any, uranium fracking releases into the environment isn’t known. Bank calls for a greater understanding of the metal’s presence in shale in order to accurately assess how mobile the metal might become. She said while the uranium wouldn’t pose a radiation threat at these levels, it is still very much a toxin.
Speaking today at a Geological Society of America meeting, geologists are presenting research suggesting the natural gas extraction method may disturb uranium deposits, which occur naturally in Marcellus shale.
“Hydrofracking” or “fracking” is usually criticized for the often undisclosed chemicals it uses during the process of injecting water and sand into natural gas wells at high pressure. This is done to fracture tight shale formations and release the natural gas. That the chemicals may leach into groundwater is the main concern, and something the EPA relaunched an investigation into recently. Just last week, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell banned fracking on state land (though most occurs on private land in PA).
Groundwater is also on the minds of a team of geologists from the University of Buffalo, but in regard to uranium contamination. Scanning shale surfaces taken from Pennsylvania and western New York, they created a chemical map of the rock revealing that its uranium and hydrocarbons were located together.
Lead researcher Tracy Banks says in a statement:
We found that the uranium and the hydrocarbons are in the same physical space. We found that they are not just physically but also chemically bound. That led me to believe that uranium in solution could be more of an issue because the process of drilling to extract the hydrocarbons could start mobilizing the metals as well, forcing them into the soluble phase and causing them to move around.
Experimenting with some drilling fluids used in the industry, they found that they did react with uranium, in their lab. How much, if any, uranium fracking releases into the environment isn’t known. Bank calls for a greater understanding of the metal’s presence in shale in order to accurately assess how mobile the metal might become. She said while the uranium wouldn’t pose a radiation threat at these levels, it is still very much a toxin.
Mars Deposits may have captured Water and life signs:
(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/JHU-APL/Brown Univ)Light-coloured deposits (left and forefront) on the flank of an ancient volcano on the Red Planet might act like a Martian version of amber, preserving any life present at the site 3.7 billion years ago for future study.
The deposits contain the mineral hydrated silica, according to observations made by a spectrometer on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The mineral is transported and then concentrated by hot water or steam, suggesting the deposits were laid down in what was once a hydrothermal environment.
Groundwater may have been heated by magma from the erupting volcano and vented to the surface as steam, says John Mustard of Brown University in Rhode Island, a member of the team that identified the mineral.
"The heat and water required to create this deposit probably made this a habitable zone," says team leader John Skok of Brown.
The team says the mineral could record evidence of any life that may have existed when the deposits formed about 3.7 billion years ago. "Silica is a nice little coffin-making device," Mustard told New Scientist. "As it precipitates out, it coats things. If there was biological material, it could be wrapped up in a silica coating, like a jelly bean."
Located in the Syrtis Major volcanic region around Mars's equator, the deposits are not the first to be found on Mars. In 2007, NASA's Spirit rover detected hydrated silica in a volcanic region inside Gusev Crater.
But Spirit's deposits were found beneath a layer of soil, and Mustard says it is not entirely clear how they formed. "Spirit detected the deposits but not the context," says Mustard. "Our observations show unbelievably well the context – it is a volcano. We know where the heat source is."
Rover scientist Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, concedes the point. "The geological provenance is a little less certain than if you're seeing [the silica] on the side of a volcano."
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Germicidal and Sanitising effect of UV-C Light
UV-C light is the name for a certain spectrum of the (invisible) light. UV-C light is formed by the light in the range between 200 and 280 nm. This light is very much suitable for the so-called UV-C disinfection and is everything that is being done to terminate microorganisms with the help of UV-C energy.
UV-C lamps are especially produced for these purposes. Mostly we use mercury to generate the specific UV-C radiation. The lamps are coated specifically in order to burn a minimum of 8,000 hours and retain 80% of the initial UV-C energy. After 8,000 burning hours it is recommended to replace the lamps.
UV-C disinfection is applied to water, air and surfaces. Benefit of the UV-C application is that no chemicals need to be added to the air or water and the composition of the air or water does not alter. Moreover, the system is very economic compared with many other disinfecting methods. It goes without saying that UV-C disinfection is a very environmental-friendly and safe technique.
To read the whole paper from Hygienitech in PDF format Click here
YouTube - Mass Shares Shuttle's "Close-Up"
In this episode of "NASA Behind the Scenes," astronaut Mike Massimino takes you up to - and under - the space shuttle as it waits on launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center for the start of a recent mission. But first, learn about some of the very famous visitors to the virtual reality laboratory at the Johnson Space Center, as Mass takes you on a tour of this facility where astronauts train for and simulate spacewalks.
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