Synthetic detergents rapidly replaced soap for most domestic cleaning purposes after World War II. Concurrently, great billows of foam began passing undegraded through sewage treatment plants into receiving waters, which were often sources for domestic water supplies. The detergent industry quickly learned that many surface-active agents--the active ingredients of synthetic detergents and the producers of foam--were not readily biodegradable. The most popular surface-active agent was alkyl benzene sulfonate (ABS). Industrialized societies had developed satisfactory sewage processes to treat domestic wastes, but even the most advanced treatment facilities proved incapable of degrading ABS. Biodegradable examines the development of synthetic detergents and the unanticipated pollution of surface waters and groundwaters by this new technology, as well as the social, political, and industrial responses that resulted in correction of the problem. Public and governmental pressure in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany led to the international detergent industry's finding a biodegradable substitute for ABS, namely, linear alkyl sulfonate (LAS). Its use from the mid-1960s solved the foaming pollution problem. The three countries responded to the problem very differently. West Germany almost immediately legislated that only those detergents that were more than eighty percent biodegradable could be sold. The U.S. government allowed the detergent industry to seek a solution while the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare monitored the industry's progress. In the U.K. the government created committees and required industry to cooperate with them to find a solution. Biodegradable not only examines problems resulting from a new technology but also compares and contrasts different societies' methods of dealing with these problems.

The presence of cyanide is a significant issue in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment and management, in remediation of former manufactured gas plant sites and aluminum production waste disposal sites, in treatment and management of residuals from hydrometallurgical gold mining, and in other industrial operations in which cyanide-bearing wastes were produced. The complexity of the chemistry and toxicology of cyanide and the risk it poses in different environmental contexts make its management and remediation extremely challenging. Cyanide in Water and Soil is the first book to present the state-of-the-art in managing cyanide across a wide range of industrial and environmental contexts.

The book brings together current knowledge and information about cyanide release to and behavior in the environment, and explores how to control or remediate these releases. No other broad-based examination of this topic exists. Exploring the anthropogenic and natural sources of cyanide in the environment, the authors address the full range of issues pertaining to cyanide fate, transport, treatment, and toxicity in water and soil as well as approaches currently used in risk assessment and management. They have developed a careful balance of depth and scope of coverage, providing current references that help readers learn more about topics of particular interest.

An array of technologies is available for the treatment of cyanide in surface water and groundwater, wastewaters, and contaminated soils and sludges. These technologies span the gamut of biological, chemical, electrolytic, physical, and thermal treatment processing. Presenting examples of applications of the technologies employedmost commonly in municipal and industrial settings, the book is a useful reference tool for engineers, scientists, practitioners, and researchers in academia, industrial organizations, government, and engineering and science consulting firms.

These articles focus on methods for optimizing the effectiveness of microorganisms for biodegradation. This volume includes discussions of the biodegradation and toxicity of PAH-, PCP-, PCB-, and BTEX-contaminated soil and aqueous sediments. Both bench-scale and pilot-scale studies deal with microbial issues such as surfactant-enhanced aromatic hydrocarbon degradation, nutrient addition and bioavailability, and various dispersion techniques. Selected case studies include discussions on pre-culture and consortium biodegradation of various petroleum hydrocarbons.

This volume emphasizes pilot- and field-scale applications of bioremediation technology for petroleum hydrocarbon and chlorinated solvent contamination. Described are a variety of biological process units used to treat hazardous waste aerobic bioreactors, fluidized-bed reactors, fixed-film bioreactors for chlorinated solvent treatment, rotating biological contactors, slurry-phase bioreactors, biopile systems for treating ethylbenzene- and styrene-contaminated soils, microbial mats, and biofilters for VOC treatment.

Hazardous waste incineration technologies have been developed to meet the needs of a rapidly growing market that has been created by the proliferation of hazardous waste in modern society. These hazardous wastes are continuously produced as by-products of many industries. Vast stockpiles of hazardous or toxic wastes are currently residing in insecure landfills, thus imperiling our drinking water supplies. This handbook is written with the user in mind. An in-depth review of regulatory and technical requirements is presented with later sections regarding permitting and operation of incineration facilities. A comprehensive description of established and emerging incinerator technologies is included along with a number of alternatives. One of the key sections involves a detailed procedure for choosing an incinerator for a specific job, including engineering calculations and going through the bid process. Rationale for whether to buy or lease incineration equipment is included as well as details on trial burns, permitting strategies, and startup and operation of incinerators. A number of typical case histories of incinerators are presented for such diverse applications as cleaning up individual sites with transportable units, stationary facilities for in-house wastes, and incinerator ships. Appendices provide a convenient reference to physical properties, combustion parameters, detailed equipment performance nomographs and several sample permits including RCRA, TSCA and local permit applications. In summary, this handbook provides a single reference point for the potential user of an incinerator as well as a valuable source of design data for incinerator vendors, consultants and regulators.

This report presents the institutional progress made in selected member countries towards achieving sanitation goals, as reported in an ESCAP-led survey. Institutional progress consists of changes in administrative, legal and financial rules and practices that have been made with sanitation goals in mind. It also includes the 'slow-moving' institutions, which are social norms and practices, general awareness of the public and the ensuing demand for sanitation services.

The aim of this review series is to present critical commentaries on knowledge in the field of coastal and ocean engineering. Each article will review and illuminate the development of the scientific understanding of a specific engineering topic. Critical reviews on engineering designs and practices in different countries will also be included. The first volume of the review series is a collection of five papers reviewing a wide range of research topics in coastal engineering.The first paper, written by Yeh, discusses one of the fundamental issues concerning many fluid flow problems, namely, free surface boundary conditions. In the second paper, a survey on another boundary dynamics, the seafloor dynamics is presented. Foda reviews recent studies on the nonlinear wave energy transfer into the seabed and different modes of wave-induced sediment fluidization processes in cohesive as well as in noncohesive seabeds. Several issues concerning the interactions between sediment deposit and marine structures, such as pipeline and breakwater, are also briefly reviewed. One of the active research areas in modeling wave propagation is the construction of a unified model which is valid from deep water to shallow water. Liu discusses several existing models. The sediment movement in the surf zone is a complex system. It can usually be decomposed into the longshore and the cross-shore components. Dean focused his discussion on the cross-shore sediment transport process. In the last paper, van der Meer presents a comprehensive review of the design consideration for a rubble mound breakwater. Both hydraulic and structural responses are discussed. Design formulas and graphs are presented, which can be used for a conceptual design of rubble mount breakwater.

The European zebra mussel in the Great Lakes, a toxic Japanese dinoflagellate transferred to Australia?such biologically and economically harmful stowaways have made it imperative to achieve better management of ballast water in ocean-going vessels. Stemming the Tide examines the introduction of non-indigenous species through ballast water discharge. Ballast is any solid or liquid that is taken aboard ship to achieve more controlled and safer operation. This expert volume: Assesses current national and international approaches to the problem and makes recommendations for U.S. government agencies, the U.S. maritime industry, and the member states of the International Maritime Organization. Appraises technologies for controlling the transfer of organisms?biocides, filtration, heat treatment, and others?with a view toward developing the most promising methods for shipboard demonstration. Evaluates methods for monitoring the effectiveness of ballast water management in removing unwanted organisms. The book addresses the constraints inherent in ballast water management, notably shipboard ballast treatment and monitoring. Also, the committee outlines efforts to set an acceptable level of risk for species introduction using the techniques of risk analysis. Stemming the Tide will be important to all stakeholders in the issue of unwanted species introduction through ballast discharge: policymakers, port authorities, shippers, ship operators, suppliers to the maritime industry, marine biologists, marine engineers, and environmentalists. Table of Contents Front Matter EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 BALLAST WATER AND NONINDIGENOUS SPECIES 2 BALLAST WATER AND SHIPS 3 MANAGING BALLAST WATER 4 SHIPBOARD TREATMENT OPTIONS 5 MONITORING 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS B COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND ACTIVITIES C EXPLANATION OF BASIC STABILITY D ALTERNATIVE SHIP DESIGNS E GREAT LAKES MARITIME INDUSTRY VOLUNTARY BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE CONTROL OF RUFFE IN LAKE SUPERIOR PORTS, 1993 F CANDIDATE SHIPBOARD TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION G TREATMENT OPTIONS QUERY H EMERGING MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES GLOSSARY AND CONVERSIONS INDEX

The discovery and development of local water resources is an important theme in the history of the Arab states. These volumes draw together, for the benefit of scholars, surviving historical records on the water resources of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States and Oman, including the evaluation and management of water supplies; surveys and exploration, and water divining. Material has also been included on the Jeddah water scheme in Saudi Arabia. This small collection does not cover the Tigris-Euphrates basin, for which abundant historical material on local irrigation schemes is available [see, for example, Iraq Administration Reports 1914-1932, Archive Editions, 1992], nor the Jordan Valley, where a separate study of the complex political issues is required.

Keynote speakers: L P Duffy, D L Ray & E Teller.

These articles discuss aerobic and anaerobic biological degradation for dehalogenating sites contaminated with pesticides and chlorinated solvents. Bench-and field-scale studies are described, as are microcosm studies, numerical simulations, and site characteristics and their effect on the stability of methanotrophic community. Methods discussed include air venting, alternative electron donors, biofilm reactors, surfactants, municipal digester sludge, iron enhancement, and sulfate reduction to improve conditions for microbial consortia.