Oil shale environmental research and coordination. Final report, 1976-1983

Technical Report · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:6245190

Chappell, W R

The research program initially known as Trace Elements in Oil Shale and later as Oil Shale Environmental Research and Coordination was a multi-disciplinary, multi-university effort focused on understanding the release transport, and effects of toxic substances (primarily trace elements) by an oil shale industry. In addition, Dr. Chappell, the Principal Investigator, served from 1978 to 1982 as the Chairman of the Oil Shale Task Force. Dr. Chappell and his staff worked with members of the Task Force (who were DOE contractors) to help coordinate the research being sponsored by DOE on the health and environmental effects of oil shale. The research involved faculty from four universities and several disciplines and included studies of leachates from raw and spent shales, studies of contaminants in retort waters, studies of the background of trace elements in the oil shale region, studies of the uptake of toxic elements by plants growing on spent shale, and studies of the use of methods of pattern recognition for detecting contamination from an oil shale operation. Among the results obtained are: molybdenum and boron can be accumulated in plants growing on spent shale covered with soil to levels toxic to livestock and plants, respectively, and very high concentrations of molybdenum and boron are found in leachates from spent shale. The coordination efforts involved numerous meetings, workshops, and public presentation and three international symposia and gained national and international visibility for DOE's program as well as establishing strong interactions with the industry, state and local governments, and the public.

• Research Organization: Colorado Univ., Denver (USA). Center for Environmental Sciences
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-79EV10298
• OSTI ID: 6245190
• Report Number(s): DOE/EV/10298-5(1); ON: DE85007360
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
041000* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Environmental Aspects
560303 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Plants-- (-1987)
560305 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology-- Vertebrates-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
BORON
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CATTLE
CHEMICAL REACTORS
COORDINATED RESEARCH PROGRAMS
DISPERSIONS
DISSOLUTION
DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EQUIPMENT
FOOD CHAINS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRY
LEACHATES
LEACHING
LIQUID WASTES
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
METALS
MIXTURES
MOLYBDENUM
OIL SHALE INDUSTRY
OIL SHALES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RETORTS
RUMINANTS
SEMIMETALS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUTIONS
SPENT SHALES
TOXICITY
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
VERTEBRATES
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER