Good news plus lingering concerns for Deepwater Horizon cleanup workers

Several new studies of air and water near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill conclude that cleanup workers may have escaped harm from one of the most worrisome groups of potentially toxic substances in the oil, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (CEN), ACS's weekly news magazine. But it cites concerns that another group of potentially harmful chemicals did escape from the water and could create a health hazard for cleanup workers.

The article, by C&EN Senior Editor Elizabeth Wilson, describes research showing that benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene — collectively termed BTEX — remained dissolved in the Gulf of Mexico, and did not vaporize into the air where they could be inhaled by cleanup workers. The spill began on July 20, 2010 with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon facility, 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana, killing 11 oil workers. By the time the well was capped 87 days later, 4.9 million barrels (206 million gallons) of oil had spilled.

Tempering that apparent good news for the health of cleanup workers, however, are concerns that other substance released by the crude oil, substances that do not dissolve as well in water, die become airborne during the 2010 disaster. If so, they could pose a health threat to cleanup workers, the article notes.

More information: "Hyrdocarbons at Gulf Spill Surface" is available at http://pubs.acs.or … 937sci3.html

Provided by American Chemical Society (news : web)

Chemical research could help solve radioactive waste concerns

The controversial problem of storing some of the most radioactive elements of nuclear waste could be close to being solved thanks to experts from the University of Reading.

Researchers in the Department of Chemistry have discovered a class of molecules that can selectively extract extremely radioactive components - ‘minor actinides' - that remain after spent fuel has been reprocessed, making the eventual waste far less radiotoxic. The minor actinides can potentially be fed back into nuclear reactors, providing extra energy and, in turn, be converted to non-radioactive products.

The UK nuclear power industry produces about 10,000 megawatts of power each year. Although the vast bulk of the spent fuel from a reactor can be reprocessed and fed back into the fuel cycle, a residue, consisting of corrosion products, lanthanides and minor actinides, must be sent to storage.

For every 500kg of spent fuel, there is 15kg of waste, of which the minor actinides, such as americium, curium and neptunium, constitute less than 1kg. However, these present an extreme hazard as they are intensely radioactive and long-lived nuclides that cause serious concern when it comes to storing them for more than 100,000 years.

Professor Laurence Harwood, who led the research at Reading, said: "The minor actinides are highly radioactive and have half lives up to millions of years. If these can be removed they could be used as fuel in the new generation of nuclear reactors that will come on-stream around 2025 and converted to non-radioactive material.  Being able to separate out the minor actinides even now already makes storage simpler and reduces the security risk as well.

"Our research has produced molecules capable of removing 99.9%of the minor actinides left after reprocessing spent fuel, ensuring much smaller levels of radioactive waste would accrue and remain hazardous for a much shorter period of time; a few hundred years, rather than effectively forever."

More information: The research, ‘Highly efficient separation of actinides from lanthanides by a phenanthroline-derived bis-triazine ligand', can be viewed at http://centaur.rea … 0000170.html

Provided by University of Reading

Concerns about efforts to foster the biofuel boom

Despite growing evidence that biofuels may not be the cure-all once envisioned, many countries are still rushing headlong with biofuels development policies that experts say are having negative as well as positive impacts on the sustainable-energy dream. That's the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

In the article, C&EN Contributing Editor Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay points out that belief in biofuels' ability to supply fuel for cars and trucks dates to 1925, when automobile pioneer Henry Ford predicted that plants would be the transportation fuel-of-the-future. That prediction became enshrined in government policies over the last decade as the United States and more than 50 other countries began efforts to integrate biofuels into the fuel supply.

"Producing fuel crops that would meet a country's domestic fuel needs, revitalize rural economies, and cut down on greenhouse gas emissions appeared to be a one-size-fits-all solution," the article states. With scientific research and practical experience, a more realistic view of biofuels' potential has emerged. With it come concerns about government policies involving use of corn and other food crops for biofuel production, for instance, and the environmental impact of the biofuel industry.

More information: "Examining Biofuels Policy": http://pubs.acs.or … 33cover.html

Provided by American Chemical Society (news : web)