One week after classes ended at Stevens Institute of Technology, the Passaic River ran red through Paterson, NJ. The peculiar sight was part of a dye study by Environmental Engineering students and faculty. Commissioned by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to determine the total maximum daily load of pollution entering the river, the team dropped 14 pounds of nonreactive Rhodamine dye in the river, and then took samples downstream to analyze the Passaic's flow.
Tina Singh and Brad Iulculano, both Environmental Engineering undergraduates, are working with Dr. Sarath Chandra Jagupilla, a Research Engineer in the Center for Environmental Systems; Professor Emeritus Richard Hires; and Assistant Research Professor from Rutgers University Dr. Robert Miskewitz (Stevens Ph.D. '05) to study pollution in the Passaic River. Dr. David Vaccari, director of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering, leads the project, "Pathogen TMDL Monitoring and FC-EC Relations in the Lower Passaic River." The results of the study will help the NJDEP clean up and mitigate pollution along stretches of the Passaic River.
Passaic River pollution takes a variety of forms, but the team is focused on one in particular: fecal coliform bacteria. In Paterson and other cities with old sewer systems, this type of pollution enters the river through a process known as combined sewer overflow (CSO). Modern sewer systems are comprised of two separate sewers: a sanitary sewer that empties in a sewage treatment plant, and a storm sewer that collects from street drains and enters water sources untreated. Sewer systems of the past the kind found in older communities like Paterson, Hoboken, and New York City, have a single sewer that feeds a sewage treatment plant. Normally this system works fine, but when it rains, the flow is too much for the sewage treatment plant to handle, and CSO occurs, and undesirable pathogens are discharged into the river
'/>"/>
| Contact: Christine del Rosario cdelrosa@stevens.edu 201-216-5561 Stevens Institute of Technology Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Dr. Knut Stamnes at Stevens receives NASA grant for environmental monitoring
2. UCSB localizing fruit, vegetable consumption doesnt solve environmental, health issues
3. UCSB scientists track environmental influences on giant kelp with help from satellite data
4. Environmental education has failed and must be revamped, new book argues
5. Cancer scientists discover new way breast cancer cells adapt to environmental stress
6. Pediatricians examine impact of environmental disasters on childrens health
7. Fluctuations before the fall: Predicting and preventing environmental collapse
8. What motivates environmental activists, policymakers? asks new research center
9. Human rules may determine environmental tipping points
10. Engineering students win International Environmental Design Contest
11. Springer launches Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |