Achievement

ERIE-IGERT trainee Shannon Seneca has initiated research related to the use of natural zeolites to removal radioactive strontium-90 from groundwater. During the summer of 2008, Ms. Seneca conducted a research immersion at the University of Waterloo (UW), supported through ERIE’s international supplement. Mentoring and technical support provided by from geochemists at UW allowed her to refine her experimental methods, and she was able to confirm the performance of the candidate zeolite material through a successful series of column experiments. After her return to Buffalo, external grant funding was obtained to support new long term column tests to evaluate the potential performance of a full scale permeable treatment wall at the West Valley Demonstration Project. Preliminary results will be presented at the American Geophysical Union 2009 Spring Meeting.