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Environment Quick News
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| A
Monthly Report on EPRI's Environmental Research Programs |
July-August
2009 |
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Program members can use their epri.com ID and password to download
Acrobat PDF files of EPRI technical reports. For assistance, contact
the EPRI Customer Assistance Center at (800) 313-3774. |
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Dear Environment Sector members:
In this issue of Quick News there are a number of articles
that describe the relationship between agriculture/land use practices
and the electric power sector. In particular, the article
in Program 91 on Stephanie Shaw’s presentation outlines many
of these links and their importance in addressing environmental
issues. EPRI research is attempting to clarify many of these
relationships so policymakers and regulators can incorporate this
knowledge into their decision-making processes.
Stephanie's paper, presented at a recent conference, described
how the agriculture industry could play a significant role in climate
management through reduced use of fertilizers—thus reducing
nitrous oxide emissions—and increased use of low-till agriculture.
Her paper also summarized EPRI's project in association with EPA,
the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, and other key players to examine
how water quality trading could be applied by the electric and agriculture
sectors in cost-effective reduction of nitrogen emissions, discharges,
and runoff. She also describes EPRI research, again in association
with EPA, on testing the use of FGD gypsum as an agricultural soil
amendment.
The Global Climate Change section describes a new modeling framework
developed under the direction of Steve Rose that examines the economics
of land use and land management decisions in greenhouse gas mitigation
and sequestration. Adam Diamant's successful series of emissions
offsets workshops most recently focused on deforestation and forest
degradation, to much acclaim.
It is critical that our industry work across the various sectors
of the economy to explore solutions to environmental issues. EPRI
is playing that role on your behalf and with your support.
We hope you are having an enjoyable summer. The announcement
of the upcoming advisory meetings in Boulder has recently been sent
out, and we look forward to seeing you in October.
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| . In a continuing effort
to modernize and update EPRI's website, a redesigned Environment
sector web page is now live on epri.com. |
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| Program 42: Air Toxics Health and Risk
Assessment |
| . EPRI’s Leonard Levin chaired
the closing plenary session of the 9th International Conference
on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, held June 7–12
in Guiyang, China. |
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| Program 91: Assessment Tools for Ozone,
Particulate Matter, Regional Haze and Atmospheric Deposition |
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Stephanie Shaw participated in two recent meetings aimed
at understanding the air quality issues of the agricultural
industry. |
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A newly funded Technology Innovation project will
assess the contribution of primary biological material
to fine and coarse particles in the atmosphere. |
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| Program 92: Assessment of Air Quality
Impacts on Health and the Environment |
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EPRI’s Annette Rohr recently presented findings
from the Toxicological Evaluation of Realistic Emissions
of Source Aerosols (TERESA) study. |
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A newly funded Technology Innovation project will
assess the contribution of primary biological material
to fine and coarse particles in the atmosphere. |
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| Visit
the Global Climate Webpage |
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| Global Climate Change Area News |
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Global Climate Change Area staff participated in
the 2009 International Energy Workshop (IEW), held in
Venice, Italy, June 17–19. |
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| . EPRI’s Richard Richels,
at the request of the U.S. government and the invitation
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
participated in the July 13–17 Scoping Meeting for
the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change. |
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The article discusses the need, capability, and
challenges for U.S. agriculture in adapting to changing
climate, noting unique regional circumstances that might
cause some areas to become economically unproductive,
while some might adapt and others might become productive
for the first time. |
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| Program 102: Global Climate Policy Costs
and Benefits |
| . EPRI’s Steven Rose has written
a white paper for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change
that takes stock of federal decisions regarding climate
change impacts and the fundamental characteristics of
the information that is required and available for making
those decisions. |
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| . Steven Rose and collaborators
at Purdue University and The Ohio State University developed
a new global general equilibrium framework to explicitly
model the economics of land-use and land-management decisions
in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and sequestration. |
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| Report Describes Sea Level Rise.
Sea
Level Rise in the Twenty First Century: A Review
(1019381). This Technical Report provides background
on the causes of sea level rise and outlines the observed
and projected changes in sea level both globally and regionally.
The report emphasizes the potential impacts to coastal
areas of the United States. For more information,
contact Naresh Kumar, (650) 855-2990, nkumar@epri.com. |
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| Program 103: Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Options |
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July 30, EPRI hosted the sixth workshop in its Greenhouse
Gas (GHG) Emissions Offset Policy Dialogue project in
Washington D.C. |
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| Report Highlights Role of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Offsets. Key
Issues in Designing Mechanisms to Reduce Emissions from
Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) (1017998).
This report provides a comprehensive understanding
of the potentially important role that greenhouse gas
emissions offsets derived from REDD-based activities may
play in helping to mitigate global climate change and
in reducing the costs of complying with future requirements
to reduce GHG emissions. For more information, contact
Adam Diamant, (510) 260-9105, adiamant@epri.com. |
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| Program 49: Coal Combustion Products—Environmental
Issues |
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Researchers performed air–mercury exchange
tests on flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum samples
from three power plants burning bituminous coal and three
plants burning subbituminous coal. |
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| Program 50: Manufactured Gas Plant Site
Management |
| . The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is developing a protocol for evaluating
and implementing monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of
contaminants at manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. |
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| Program 59: Power Plant Toxics Characterization |
| . EPRI’s
Leonard Levin chaired the closing plenary session of the
9th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant,
held June 7–12 in Guiyang, China. |
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| Program 54: Fish Protection at Steam
Electric Power Plants |
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EPRI’s invitation, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency Clean Water Act §316(b) Phase II Rule Development
Team attended the June 17, Water and Ecosystems Program
Area Summer Technical Advisory Meeting at Alden Research
Laboratory Inc. in Holden, MA. |
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| . EPRI
initiated a project to evaluate the engineering issues
that industry will encounter if the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency requires a national retrofit of fine-mesh
traveling screens as a “best technology available”
requirement in a revised Clean Water Act §316(b)
Phase II Rule. |
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| . On July 7, EPRI’s
Doug Dixon met with representatives of the Institute of
Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) to discuss mutual progress
in gathering information on cooling water intake structure
blockages and in developing best management practices
(BMPs) to avoid or mitigate blockage occurrence. |
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| Report Published on Impingement Mortality
Characterization Study. Ohio
River Ecological Research Program: Impingement Mortality
Characterization Study at 15 Power Stations (1018540).
This Technical Report describes a collaborative
approach to impingement abundance monitoring to comply
with the Phase II Rule of §316(b) of the Clean Water
Act. The results will be a valuable resource for
understanding factors affecting impingement as well as
what species are most likely to be impinged at power plants
on large rivers. For more information, contact Doug
Dixon, (804) 642-1025, ddixon@epri.com. |
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| Program 55: Strategic Water Issues: TMDLs,
Availability, Climate |
| . A half day
of EPRI’s recent Water Program Area Summer Technical
Advisory Meeting was dedicated to discussing EPRI's
Ohio River Basin Trading Project. |
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| . Under a research effort
funded by USEPA, EPRI recently held a workshop to define
a new water infrastructure management paradigm, bringing
together two communities that are re-evaluating how to
manage their water systems, as well as a panel of water
management experts representing government, water research
foundations, consultants, and universities. |
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| . A new project has been initiated
to build a long-term (5-10 year) research program in water
sustainability with particular focus on reduced water
use in the electric sector. |
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| Program 56: Effluent Guidelines and Water
Quality Management |
| . EPRI’s
Paul Chu gave three R&D summary presentations to The
Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO)
about EPRI’s work on FGD water characterization
and FGD water treatment evaluation. |
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A half day of EPRI’s recent Water Program
Area Summer Technical Advisory Meeting was dedicated to
discussing effluent guidelines. |
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| Program 58: Waterpower |
| . EPRI’s
Doug Dixon, who is also president of the Bioengineering
Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), launched
a Bioengineering Continuing Education initiative beginning
at this year’s AFS Annual Meeting in Nashville,
TN, Aug. 30–Sept. 3. |
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| Program 60: EMF Health Assessment and
Radio-Frequency Safety |
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| Visit
the EMF Health Assessment and RF Safety Public Webpage |
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| . Renowned
childhood leukemia experts from Israel, the Netherlands,
the United Kingdom, and the United States recently met
at an EPRI-sponsored workshop in London to discuss the
feasibility of studying childhood leukemia in children
with Down syndrome. |
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| EMFWorkstation 2009 Available in Beta Version.
PRE-SW
EMFWorkstation 2009 (1019411). This 32-bit software
models electric and magnetic fields in complex situations
such as those involving arrays of three-phase substation
equipment, transmission and distribution lines, and single-phase
custom conductors. For more information, contact Rob Kavet,
(650) 855-1061, rkavet@epri.com. |
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| . EPRI’s Rob Kavet presented the
following papers at the Bioelectromagnetics Society 31st
Annual Meeting, held June 14–19 in Davos, Switzerland. |
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ENVIRONMENT FEDERAL
HIGHLIGHTS (Washington D.C. Office, John Novak) |
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| For more information on
the items below, contact John Novak, 202-293-6180,
jnovak@epri.com.
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John Novak attended the climate meetings held June
1–12 in Bonn, Germany. |
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On June 15, Jessica Fox, John Novak, and others
involved in EPRI's Ohio River Basin Water Quality Trading
Project met with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) staff to discuss how the project can facilitate
development of nutrient criteria in the Ohio River Basin. |
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| EPRI Meets with Obama Administration Officials.
On June 17, Steve Specker, Barbara Tyran, and John
Novak met with Joe Aldy, Special Assistant to the President
for Energy and Climate Change. On June 18, they met with
State Department Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change
Jonathan Pershing. Specker shared results from recent
EPRI climate research and insights on climate technology
costs. |
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participated in several meetings held by the Edison Electric
Institute (EEI) in conjunction with EEI’s June 23–25
Annual Convention/Expo in San Francisco. |
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| NEW SUPPLEMENTAL PROJECT
OPPORTUNITIES |
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| Program 92: Assessment of Air Quality Impacts on Health and
the Environment |
| Michigan
Integrated Cohort and Animal Particle Study
(1018502). This combined human exposure and animal toxicological
study will help link adverse cardiovascular health effects to
specific particulate matter components. |
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| For a complete list of all active Environment
Supplemental Project Opportunities click here. |
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| NEW MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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| *
denotes EPRI sponsored or cosponsored event |
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| Environment Sector |
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Environment Sector and Area Council Advisory Meetings
Oct. 5–8, Boulder, CO. Contact: Adina Kozuh, (650)
855-2991, akozuh@epri.com.
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Environment Sector and Area Council Advisory Meetings
Mar. 15–18, 2010, Orlando, FL. Contact: Adina
Kozuh, (650) 855-2991, akozuh@epri.com.
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| Air Quality |
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Gordon Research Conference on Atmospheric Chemistry
Aug. 23–28, Waterville Valley, NH. Contact: Eladio
Knipping, (650) 855-2592, eknippin@epri.com.
Twenty-First Conference of the International
Society for Environmental Epidemiology
Aug. 25–28, Dublin, Ireland. Contact: Annette
Rohr, (650) 855-2765, arohr@epri.com.
Annual Meeting of the American College of Epidemiology
Sept. 12–15, Silver Spring, MD. Contact: Sharan Campleman,
(650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
National Atmospheric Deposition 2009 Annual Meeting
& Scientific Symposium
Oct. 6–8, Saratoga Springs, NY. Contact: Arnout
Ter Schure, (650) 855-2753, aterschu@epri.com.
8th Annual Community Modeling and Analysis System
(CMAS) Conference
Oct. 19–21, Chapel Hill, NC. Contact: Naresh Kumar,
(650) 855-2990, nkumar@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
Air Quality VII Conference
Oct. 26–29, Arlington, VA. Contact: Leonard Levin,
(650) 855-7929, llevin@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
American Association for Aerosol Research 28th
Annual Conference
Oct. 26–30, Minneapolis, MN. Contact: Stephanie
Shaw, (650) 855-2353, sshaw@epri.com.
More information is available at the
event website.
2009 National Ambient Air Monitoring Conference
Nov. 2-5, Nashville, TN. Contact: Stephanie Shaw, (650) 855-2353,
sshaw@epri.com. More information
is available at the event
website.
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
30th Annual Meeting
Nov. 19–23, New Orleans, LA. Contact: Sharan Campleman,
(650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
Society for Risk Analysis 2009 Annual Meeting
Dec. 6–9, Baltimore, MD. Contact: Sharan Campleman,
(650) 855-2331, scampleman@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
American Geophysical Union 2009 Fall Meeting
Dec. 14–18, San Francisco, CA. Contact: Stephanie
Shaw, (650) 855-2353, sshaw@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website. |
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| Global Climate Change |
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| 9th Annual EPRI-IEA-IETA Workshop
on Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading
Sept. 14–15, Paris, France. Contact: Adam Diamant, (510)
260-9105, adiamant@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website. Register for the workshop
here.
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| Land and Groundwater |
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Fall MGP Meeting
Sept. 1–2, Alexandria, VA. Contact: Contact: Jeff Clock,
(845) 608-0642, jclock@epri.com.
More information is available at the
event website.
Air Quality VII Conference
Oct. 26–29, Arlington, VA. Contact: Leonard Levin,
(650) 855-7929, llevin@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
* Agricultural &
Industrial Uses of FGD Gypsum
Nov. 17–19, Indianapolis, IN. Contact: Ken Ladwig, (262)
754-2744, keladwig@epri.com.
This conference is jointly sponsored by EPRI, ACAA, USDA-ARS,
EPA, and Southern Company. More information is available at
the event
website.
* EPRI MGP 2010
Symposium
Jan. 27-29, 2010, San Antonio, TX. Contact: Jeff Clock,
(845) 608-0642, jclock@epri.com,
or Jim Lingle, (414) 355-5559, jlingle@epri.com.
EPRI has issued a call
for abstracts. More information is available at
the event
website. |
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| Water and Ecosystems |
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| American Fisheries Society
Annual Meeting
Aug. 30–Sept. 3, Nashville, TN. Contact: Doug Dixon,
(804) 642-1025, ddixon@epri.com.
Doug Dixon has organized a Continuing Education Program entitled
Tools, and Information Resources on Upstream Fish Passage.
The course will be held Sunday, Aug. 30 and attendees will
receive two Continuing Education Units. Doug has also co-organized
a national symposium on Fish Community Monitoring in Big Rivers
on Wednesday, Sept. 2 through Thursday, Sept. 3. More information
is available at the event website (www.fisheries.org).
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| T&D Environmental Issues |
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Ninth International Symposium on Environmental
Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management
Sept. 27–Oct. 1, Portland, OR. Contact: John W.
Goodrich-Mahoney, (202) 293-7516, jmahoney@epri.com.
More information is available at the event
website.
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Together…Shaping
the Future of Electricity® |
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Electric
Power Research Institute
3420
Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 • PO Box 10412,
Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA
800.313.3774 • 650.855.2121 • askepri@epri.com
• www.epri.com
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