Southwest Research Institute 1996 Annual Report

Institute scientists and engineers monitor and analyze emissions from mobile and stationary sources and develop remediation technologies for sites contaminated by toxic materials. Each year, thousands of food, soil, air, and waste samples from Superfund sites, U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense installations, and commercial clients are analyzed for harmful substances. Air and water quality surveys and environmental risk assessments are performed for clients in the U.S. and Mexico.

The Institute continues to provide analytical services to protect the public and the environment and to support the remediation of sites contaminated by toxic materials. Recently, SwRI assisted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the remediation of dioxin contamination sites in Times Beach, Missouri. Soil samples were analyzed within 16 hours for the presence of dioxins, and ambient air samples were analyzed to ensure that no significant levels of dioxins were being emitted into the air at the remediation sites as a result of incineration of the contaminated soil.

Institute scientists are developing a procedure for a large grocery chain that can help predict the shelf life of perishable foods such as meat and dairy products. Analytical laboratory and sampling techniques normally associated with environmental applications will allow chemists, within a short time after commodity production, to detect low concentrations of chemicals that promote product degradation. Producers will be able to use the information to adjust production methods, providing a safer food supply while minimizing losses.

Southwest Research Institute received a two-year extension on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration contract to provide analytical and bioanalytical support services for the Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. In the last four years, more than 20 analytical methods have been validated under this contract in accordance with Good Laboratory Practices standards. The analytical methods represent a range of activities, from determining the presence of vitamins and fatty acids in animal feeds to isolating testosterone and other hormones in biological fluids.

The Institute is analyzing samples of drinking water, groundwater, and waste water from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for compounds shown to affect hormones, particularly estrogen. This testing, conducted for the Silent Spring Institute (SSI) with funding from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, is part of a larger study of possible environmental causes of breast cancer on Cape Cod. The Massachusetts Cancer Registry in 1993 reported that Cape Cod had a higher breast cancer incidence than the state as a whole for the years 1982-1990. The study is exploring whether increased breast cancer risk is associated with likely exposure to chemicals that affect hormones. A variety of these chemicals are found in pesticides, detergents, and plastics, and many have been identified in waste water. Chemical analyses conducted by SwRI will be used in conjunction with a bioassay developed at Tufts University Medical School to assess likely exposure to hormone disrupters.

The Institute continues to provide bioanalytical services in support of toxicological and pharmacological studies and clinical trials for new drugs. Although many of these drugs consist of small molecules that can be measured in biological fluids using high-performance liquid chromatography, some compounds contain peptides and DNA fragments that are not readily detected using traditional analytical techniques. To overcome this limitation, SwRI recently acquired a capillary electrophoresis instrument that separates ionic and polar molecules based on differences in their ionic mobility. The instrument can also separate DNA fragments that differ in length by only one base pair.

The Institute's air quality monitoring programs include a new three-year contract to assist the state of Missouri Department of Natural Resources in monitoring 58 ozone precursor volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted from vehicles on the state's major roads and highways. The project requires 100-200 air samples to be collected each summer and analyzed in accordance with EPA guidelines. The results will be entered into a database that can be used by state and local agencies when assessing air quality, characterizing the nature and extent of ozone problems, and tracking VOC emissions reductions.

SwRI conducted a third-party evaluation of client-modified surface induction profiling (SIP) and vertical induction profiling (VIP) geophysical methods used to assess sites contaminated with petroleum products and other contaminants. Capabilities of the two technologies were evaluated at a site contaminated with aircraft calibration fluid at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas. Objectives were to evaluate field techniques and the two- and three-dimensional color graphic models generated from the field data to delineate subsurface contamination. The evaluation compared model results to samples taken from monitoring and recovery well installations. Results showed that SIP and VIP provide valuable information regarding the location and extent of subsurface hydrocarbon contaminants, making drilling and sampling programs and recovery operations more cost effective.

The U.S. Air Force has experienced aircraft paint reliability problems as a result of using new, environmentally compliant paint formulations. To address the issue, the Air Force asked SwRI to operate the Coatings Technology Integration Office (CTIO) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The CTIO will be a central resource of expertise and technology for aircraft coating systems. In a multidisciplinary effort, Institute chemists, engineers, and scientists will test, evaluate, and integrate paint and paint-related materials and processes to improve coating system performance and pollution prevention measures. In addition to supporting the development of new products, the CTIO will assist the Air Force in troubleshooting unique problems with existing materials, equipment, and facilities.

In an example of environmental field support services for the CTIO, SwRI is helping the USAF Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC) in Tucson, Arizona, examine its aircraft preservative coating operation. Institute scientists conducted on-site air sampling and analyses using the SwRI mobile analytical chemistry laboratory. Results were submitted to the local regulatory agency by AMARC to demonstrate that paint overspray was not a contributor to air pollution around the installation. SwRI researchers also evaluated wipe solvents used during AMARC aircraft refinishing processes and suggested several replacements with reduced environmental impact.

For 60 years, the gas industry relied on meters containing mercury to measure pipeline gas flow. As a result, mercury spills contaminated a number of metering stations and repair facilities. To assist in a property transfer action, SwRI scientists conducted an environmental survey of a gas pumping station with a contaminated abandoned meter repair facility. From a site survey and a review of previous studies, specific areas were targeted for possible mercury contamination. Soil and building material samples were then collected and analyzed, confirming the presence of mercury. Based on the survey results, SwRI prepared a mercury remediation plan for the site that was approved by the Texas Railroad Commission.

The Institute is supporting a U.S. Army alternative technologies program for the destruction of chemical agent stockpiles by investigating the application of advanced oxidation technology followed by biological degradation. Institute scientists conducted bench-scale and pilot-plant studies using both hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet radiation to destroy the hydrolysis products of a nerve agent called VX. The studies demonstrated that hydrolysis products could be converted to simple inorganic salts or partially treated and then further degraded using a biological treatment system. The Army will examine the results to determine which technologies merit further study.

Ozone-depleting substances (ODS) banned from production by the Montreal Protocol and the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were once widely used by the USAF in refrigerants, fire extinguishers, solvent cleaners, paint solvents, and adhesives. Air Force use of these substances has decreased by more than 85 percent, but several cleaning operations continue to require the use of materials containing ODS. SwRI has built and tested a full-scale, preproduction, non-ozone depleting cleaning system for the U.S. Air Force Wright Laboratory that employs natural convection and supercritical carbon dioxide as the cleaning solvent. Hydrocarbon-based oils were successfully removed in hard-to-access areas such as crevices, and substances insoluble in supercritical carbon dioxide were removed by mechanical polishing.

Two patents have been obtained on this technology, which was developed with the aid of advanced computational fluid dynamics simulations. The numerical simulations provided data that were used to create a recirculating facility in which temperature gradients are used to drive the recirculating flow. No pumps or other mechanical devices are required; thus, the facility requires less maintenance. This design approach allowed a prototype facility to be put in operation quickly and at a lower cost than would have been possible using conventional means of design.

Copyright© 1996 by Southwest Research Institute. All rights reserved under U.S. Copyright Law and International Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Communications Department, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 78228-0510.

Environmental Sciences and Engineering