This summer I again worked as an intern for the U.S. Department of Energy. This time, however, I was stationed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, working in the Office of Environmental Management. In particular, I worked with Jacquie Noble-Dial in the Tanks Focus Area. The Tanks Focus Area (TFA) deals with tank waste remediation at five major DOE tank sites across the country. These tanks have been used for radioactive waste storage resulting from the production of nuclear materials. Some of the waste has been stored for over fifty years in tanks that have exceeded their design lives. The TFA=s mission is to develop technical solutions to efficiently accomplish the tank remediation at the five major DOE tank sites.
The primary project I worked on was tank remediation of the T-1 and T-2 tanks at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL). These tanks contain radioactive waste, along with a high concentration of an organic ion-exchange resin. Before the waste can be sent to the Nevada Test Site (NTS) for final disposition, the organic resin must be separated from the sludge. While at the lab, I worked with Paul Taylor trying to find a way to destroy the organic resin. The method we employed is called Fenton=s Reaction, which uses hydrogen peroxide and ionic iron to create a hydroxide radical. The radical, which is a very strong oxidizer, broke apart the carbon bonds to form long chain organics (basically, a soap, which created a large amount of foam), and ultimately carbon dioxide, which evaporated out of solution. The main problem encountered is that the reaction only proceeded to a certain point. Foaming was a secondary problem resulting from the initial reaction.
My primary task was trying to find a way to extend the usefulness of the reaction, by controlling such elements as the pH, temperature, and peroxide concentration to drive the organic compound destruction to completion. I have also been asked to write a white paper detailing this work with the Fenton=s Reaction. I have been told that there is a potential to have the paper published. To view the paper, click here.
In addition to the work in the lab, I participated in other projects in the Oak Ridge area.
For example, one day I assisted Steve Hurd at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), formerly the K-25 site, in a walk-through safety inspection of one of the buildings on site. Steve gave me a list of the problems that had been found in the previous inspection and allowed me to determine if the problems had been cleared away, based on my ovservations and conversations with the building manager. For this inspection, it was my responsibility to determine if the problems previously found had been adequately addressed. My observations and analysis were then used by Steve to write the follow-up report on the building=s inspection.
I was also a participant on TFA conference calls with Jacquie Noble-Dial. These calls included representatives from headquarters, all DOE sites, all Office of Science and Technology programs, industry, and university partners. On July 25, I participated in a records review in support of a cost recovery action by the US Department of Justice under CERCLA authority. This review took place in Knoxville, TN, at the David Witherspoon, Inc. site.
My work in Oak Ridge was sponsored by ORISE (Oak Ridge Institute of Science Education) and I was involved in a program called the Student Diversity Partnership Program (SDPP). The program involved my being in Washington, DC, for the beginning and end of my assignment, as well as being a part of a special focus group, which would complete a summer project. I joined the Science Group. Our two projects were to build a web page and a Rube-Goldberg Device, both of which will be presented on August 10 to the other students and mentors involved with the program. The web page details elements of the program, how to apply for it, and gives other information about the interns involved and the projects they worked on this summer. Unfortunately, it looks like the web page no longer exists. :(.
The Rube-Goldberg Device was an idea I presented to the group in addition to working on the web page. A Rube-Goldberg Device is a setup that uses many different steps and energy exchanges to accomplish a simple task. It is based on the comics by Rube Goldberg (samples of his work can be found at http://www.rube-goldberg.com/). Our device consisted of eight steps of energy transfers which were used to turn on a series of light bulbs. The light bulbs were arranged to display a message relating to the Department of Energy. Our device was used as a demonstration of the diversity within the Department and that the different steps performed in the process are akin to the different kinds of work and people that make up the Department and allow it to function.
Being a Chemical Engineering major, I believe that the work I did in Oak Ridge this summer relates heavily to my major. I enjoyed doing hands-on work in the lab, and using the data acquired there to determine the next step in the process of solving a problem. Also, I learned the ways that these experiments will be used to deal with the material in the actual tanks. Though I will not be able to witness the upscaled process first hand, I found it very beneficial to understand how this real-life situation will be accomplished. It adds a realistic quality to the more abstract equations and ideas I learn in class.
I believe that my work this summer also allowed me a chance to see the different ways the government works and the many ways one can be involved. Future work with the Department of Energy, especially as it relates to hands-on or lab-related work, is a definite possibility for me after graduation. There are so many things being done that it is not hard to imagine finding something of great interest to me on which I could have an impact.