Keeping Phone Chargers Out of Landfills

  • A one-size-fits-all phone charger could cut down on the electronic waste generated by cell phones (Photo by Shawn Allee)

That search for the right cell
phone charger should soon become
a thing of the past. Cell phone
makers have agreed to come up with
a universal adaptor. Julie Grant
reports that that could save tons
of landfill space:

Transcript

That search for the right cell phone charger should soon become a thing of the past. Cell phone makers have agreed to come up with a universal adaptor. Julie Grant reports that that could save tons of landfill space:

Top cell phone makers – including Nokia, Samsung and Apple – have struck a deal to standardize handset chargers for European consumers by next year.

And the U.S. wireless industry association says Americans will likely see a universal charger before 2012.

That means when you buy a new phone, you won’t need to buy a new charger. You’ll be able keep using the one-size-fits-all charger.

Ted Scardamalia is with the technology analysis firm Portelligent. He says this is good for consumers – and the environment.

“If I have a charger that lasts for two or three or four phones, that’s two or three or four chargers I don’t have to recycle or put into a landfill.”

Last year, an estimated 1.2 billion cell phones were sold worldwide, according to University of Southern Queensland data reported by industry umbrella group GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association), generating up to 82,000 tonnes of chargers.

With concerns over the level of waste generated by redundant or outmoded chargers, European legislators had, prior to Monday’s agreement, considered forcing manufacturers to adopt universal technology.

For The Environment Report, I’m Julie Grant.

Related Links

Part One: Kicking Gas to the Curb

  • Ted Bohn, a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in the Chicago suburbs, shows off a modified Saturn Vue with a lithium-ion battery in the rear (Photo by Gabriel Spitzer)

One of the great hopes for a green
car is the plug-in hybrid. It’s like a regular
gas-electric hybrid, only you can plug in at
night. That charge is supposed to let most
people make a typical commute without the gas engine. Carmakers and the government are throwing a lot of money at the technology – GM and Chrysler both hope to release models in the next few years. But the cars might not deliver what boosters promise. In the first part of our series on saving gas, Gabriel Spitzer
reports on what new research says about plug-in hybrids in the real world:

Transcript

One of the great hopes for a green
car is the plug-in hybrid. It’s like a regular
gas-electric hybrid, only you can plug in at
night. That charge is supposed to let most
people make a typical commute without the gas
engine. Carmakers and the government are
throwing a lot of money at the technology – GM
and Chrysler both hope to release models in the
next few years. But the cars might not deliver
what boosters promise. In the first part of
our series on saving gas, Gabriel Spitzer
reports on what new research says about plug-in
hybrids in the real world:

Ted Bohn is a researcher at Argonne National Laboratory in the Chicago
suburbs and he’s showing off his ride.

“So this a prototype, plug-in hybrid vehicle. The rear half is a 10
kilowatt-hour battery.”

It’s a modified Saturn Vue, with a big old lithium-ion battery in the rear.

That battery is like what runs your iPod – only it weighs as much as a
linebacker.

Ted Bohn: “If you actually had to drive less than 40 miles on a typical
day, you could drive the whole day without starting the engine.”

Gabriel Spitzer: “Could you drive this very vehicle 40 miles round-trip
without starting the engine?”

Ted Bohn: “Close. If you drive slowly. To be honest, 25 to 30 is what
you’ll really do – driving on a nice day downhill with a tailwind is 40,
more realistically, 25 to 30.”

The thing is, you don’t hear those little caveats from some people, like, say,
General Motors.

“You plug it in. And they expect you’ll get up to 40 miles without a drop
of gas. Wow. The Chevy Volt. I’ve heard the future, and it hums.”

That 40-mile range is based on EPA tests.

Argonne scientist Aymeric Rousseau, with backing from the government,
compared those measures to how people drive in the real world.

Based on more than 100 drivers in Kansas City, he found that 40 mile range
shrinks to about 30.

Flip on your AC, and it’s more like 20.

“People now think about, you know, your mileage may vary. Now we
have to think about, your electrical distance may vary, depending on
how you drive, and what accessories you’re using.”

Rousseau says factors like aggressive driving sap the all-electric range.

And don’t forget – we’re talking Kansas City, here.

“When we talk to people from the EPA they actually say that people in
California drive more aggressively than people in Kansas City.”

General Motors concedes the point.

Rob Peterson is a spokesman for GM.

He says driver behavior can have some affect on the all-electric range.
Though …

“I wouldn’t go as low as 28 to 32.”

He says for a reasonable driver, the Volt can still get about 40.

And how about those pedal-to-the-metal Californians? Well, he says GM
studied exactly those people.

“For 64% of the people that we tested, they would be able to finish their
day with a petroleum-free and a tailpipe-emission-free commute.”

That’s not exactly what Argonne found.

Granted, the batteries they looked at were a little smaller than the Volt’s.
Size matters when it comes to batteries.

Said Al-Hallaj teaches at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

He says carmakers could build a battery that would boost up the all-electric
range – the problem is money.

“If you’re talking about a 25% increase, you know, from 30 to 40 miles,
that could mean thousands of dollars. So that could take it out of the
price range that will make it actually practical for the industry to make
it.”

Al-Hallaj says as the technology improves, so will drivers.

People are already getting better at squeezing fuel efficiency out of their
cars.

“For the first time I see people even worried about closing the window
versus opening the window because of drag. And we’re talking about
common people here, just trying to pay attention to, if your tires are not
properly inflated, the you have prob — so people start adapt and
probably get the best out of your battery.”

So it’s not that a plug-in hybrid can’t get 40, it’s just that you need to drive
like a grandmother to do it.

But if gas prices continue to climb, we may be seeing a lot more grannies
behind the wheel.

For The Environment Report, I’m Gabriel Spitzer.

Related Links

Only Trees Can Prevent Forest Fires?

  • Active flame front of the Zaca Fire, the second largest fire on record in California. (U.S. Forest Service photo by John Newman)

New technology might help the US
Forest Service detect fires in remote areas
more quickly. Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

New technology might help the US
Forest Service detect fires in remote areas
more quickly. Lester Graham reports:

A chemical reaction makes batteries generate electricity. There’s a ph difference
between trees and the soil around them. MIT researchers say they can use that
chemical difference to generate a tiny amount of electricity.

Andreas Mershin and his MIT colleagues say it’s just enough power to trickle charge
sensors that read temperature and humidity. Then they send that data to the U.S.
Forest Service so it can determine the risk of fire.

“The advantage comes from the fact you no longer need to be going to very remote
locations and changing batteries all the time.”

The Forest Service will be testing these sensors next spring. They cost about one-tenth
of other sensors that need batteries. So it could mean more sensors in remote
locations. That way the Forest Service could have a better idea of if and when it needs
to put fire equipment near hot, dry areas.

For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links

Power Plant Pollution From Plug-Ins?

  • Some people get a little concerned about more electrics and electric-hybrid cars. That’s because 50% of electric power in the U.S. comes from coal-burning power plants. And, just about every state wants to build more power plants to meet peak demand. (Photo by Ed Edahl, courtesy of FEMA)

The big automakers are working on
coming up with plug in hybrids. By the
end of 2010, G-M and Toyota plan to have
cars you can plug in to charge up batteries,
backed up with small gas powered engines.
Lester Graham reports there are concerns
about whether pollution from power plants
will be any better than pollution from tailpipes:

Transcript

The big automakers are working on
coming up with plug in hybrids. By the
end of 2010, G-M and Toyota plan to have
cars you can plug in to charge up batteries,
backed up with small gas powered engines.
Lester Graham reports there are concerns
about whether pollution from power plants
will be any better than pollution from tailpipes:


I was out the other day with a guy who converted his Saturn four-door into an all electric
vehicle. Did it all himself.

His name’s Bob Gurk. He’s one of a lot of people who think there’s a better way, and
they want you to see for yourself.

Bob Gurk: “Here are the keys.”

Lester Graham: “I’m drivin’?”

Guys like Bob Gurk think the big automakers should have come up with electrics and
plug-in hybrids a long time ago.

Lester Graham: “Unplug here?”

Bob Gurk: “Yeah.”

(sounds of driving)

Bob Gurk says, sure, he spent a lot converting his car to electric. And there are some
sacrifices: no air conditioning, he can only go just a little over 50 miles without a charge,
but then, he’s not paying close to four-bucks a gallon for gasoline now.

Bob Gurk: “I figure it’s about three cents a mile.”

Lester Graham: “Three cents a mile?”

Bob Gurk: “Yeah.”

Lester Graham: “As opposed to gasoline, which is?”

Bob Gurk: “Ten cents a mile, I’d say. At least.”

Some people get a little concerned about more electrics and electric-hybrids. That’s
because 50% of electric power in the U.S. comes from coal-burning power plants. And,
just about every state wants to build more power plants to meet peak demand.

A guy who’s supposed to know something about electric cars is Andy Frank. He’s at
the University of California Davis. Some call him the father of the plug-in-hybrid. Andy
Frank says we don’t use all the power that’s available right now.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that the grid actually has excess capacity. The
reason why is there has to be enough capacity to satisfy the peak draw in the middle of
the day. But, at night everybody turns off their lights and that draw goes down to about
anywhere between a half and two-thirds of what is required during the peak of the day.”

So, the idea is you could plug in your plug-in hybrid overnight.

“And then the question is how many cars could you charge with that idle capacity on our
existing grid? About 75 to 80% of cars in our entire fleet in the U.S. could be charged
with that excess capacity that we currently have.”

That’s assuming most people would only plug in at night, during the off-peak hours. If
most of them did, that would be a lot of cars that would not be emitting pollution from the
tailpipes.

But that also means some power plants will be burning more coal at night, billowing out
pollution, including greenhouse gasses.

Dustin Dwyer reports on automotive issues for Michigan Radio and he’s covered this
issue.

“One of the benefits, the power companies will tell you, is that if you have millions of
tailpipes out there spewing emissions, it’s much more difficult to capture those emissions
or manage those emissions than it is to manage coming out of one smokestack at the
power plant.”

But, you do end up shifting some pollution upstream to the power plants. And that
would pollute rural areas more, because that’s where they build the power plants.

The experts say that’s why we ought to start building parking lots with car ports covered
in solar panels, put up more wind turbines, and find other ways to use energy better – to
power all those electric and plug-in hybrids that are coming.

For The Environment Report, this is Lester Graham.

Related Links

More Money for Plug-In Hybrid Research

  • A laboratory researcher examines a lithium-ion battery that may be put in a hybrid car in the future (Photo courtesy of the Department of Energy)

The federal government and US carmakers are spending more

money on battery research for plug-in hybrid vehicles. That’s because

existing battery technology is limited. But some of the grant winners

say success won’t come easily. Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

The federal government and US carmakers are spending more

money on battery research for plug-in hybrid vehicles. That’s because

existing battery technology is limited. But some of the grant winners

say success won’t come easily. Chuck Quirmbach reports:

The US Advanced Battery Consortium is made up of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.
Together with money from the Department of Energy, the consortium is handing out millions of
dollars to develop batteries for Hybrid vehicles.

Johnson Controls and a partner will develop lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrids.

Michael Andrew is a spokesman for Johnson Controls. He says his company has a lot of work to
do to make a battery that will go forty miles between charges.

“You’ve got to hit volume targets, weight targets, power targets, energy targets, cost targets. For
the 40 mile range application, that’s gonna be a tremendous challenge for us.”

The battery and car makers say it might take even more government support to help the US auto
industry shift away from gasoline-powered cars.

Critics say the companies should have focused sooner on fuel efficiency.

For The Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

Related Links

Autos Part 2: Carmakers Slow to Adopt New Battery

  • The powertrain of the Chevy Volt. This concept image shows the lithium ion battery pack running down the center of the vehicle. (Image courtesy of GM)

Car companies are making plenty of promises these days about future
cars that will save you gas. To make them happen,
automakers are counting on a new kind of battery. They’re called lithium ion
batteries. These batteries could bring about a revolution in automobiles.
In the second part of a two-part series on green cars, Dustin Dwyer reports it could take a while for the revolution to get
here:

Transcript

Car companies are making plenty of promises these days about future
cars that will save you gas. To make them happen,
automakers are counting on a new kind of battery. They’re called lithium ion
batteries. These batteries could bring about a revolution in automobiles.
In the second part of a two-part series on green cars, Dustin Dwyer reports it could take a while for the revolution to get
here:


Lithium ion sounds like a complicated term. And you don’t necessarily need to know
what it means. But it might help to know that you already use lithium ion batteries every
day:


“It’s being used now in video cameras, personal phones, it’s in iPods, it’s in a lot of small
electronics and in, of course, laptop computers.”


That’s Jim Hall. He’s a consultant to the auto industry. His company is called 2953
Analytics. Hall’s had some experience working on battery powered cars. He says lithium
ion batteries are attractive because they can store a lot more power than the batteries in
today’s hybrid vehicles, and Hall says in the race to get lithium ion batteries into cars,
there are two leading companies: General Motors and Toyota.


They have different approaches to getting the batteries ready, but they both depend on
contractors outside the company to figure out the complicated chemistry. Hall says the
problem is right now, they need a breakthrough:


“And the breakthrough could come from an entirely different source. It could be from
another company that neither company is dealing with. It could. That’s the thing with
breakthroughs. You can’t predict how and when they happen.”


As we mentioned, battery engineers have already invented ways to make lithium ion
work in small things like cell phones, laptops and power drills. But it’s not as easy to
make the batteries work for something big, like a car.


Hall says one problem is cost. Lithium ion batteries are expensive. Another problem is
heat. The more energy you store in a lithium ion battery, the better the chances that the
battery could become unstable. If it becomes too hot, the battery could explode. That’s
already been a problem in some laptops.


Bob Lutz is the Vice Chairman of General Motors. He says his company has already
solved the heat problem with lithium ion batteries by using a different chemistry than
what’s in laptops:


“We’ve cycled ’em in hot rooms, maximum discharge rate, and cut out the cooling system
to simulate a cooling system failure in the car, and we’ve had a temperature rise of maybe
eight degrees centigrade, I mean, just not enough to worry about.”


GM expects to put the batteries in test cars and start running them on roads late this
spring. The goal is a lithium ion powered hybrid car named the Chevy Volt. It will go
forty miles on battery power alone, before a gas engine has to kick in. Lutz says he has no
doubt that the Volt will be ready to go by mid-2010, but officially, GM has not
set a production date.


Toyota says it’s also shooting to have the technology ready by 2010. But no other
automaker will even mention a date for lithium ion batteries. Not Ford. Not Honda. Not
Chrysler. Chrysler President Tom Lasorda says there’s a reason for that:


“When you’re trying to predict when a technology is going to be ready for mass market,
it’s very tough. Because you don’t know what the surprises might be.”


In the next few years, you can expect auto executives to make a lot of references to
lithium ion batteries. And basically anyone you talk to in the industry says these
batteries are no doubt, the next big thing that will save you gas.


The question is when. When will lithium ion batteries actually be in your car? Maybe
2010. Maybe a lot later. No one can really say for sure.


For the Environment Report, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

Related Links

Auto Show Shows More Green

This week, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit opens to the public. Every year, the event is a showcase for the newest trends for tomorrow’s cars and trucks, and this year, the big trend is fuel-efficient vehicles. Cleaner cars have been promised before, but Dustin Dwyer reports that this year’s green car concepts could be more than just an attempt to polish up a dirty image for the auto industry:

Transcript

This week, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit opens to the public.
Every year, the event is a showcase for the newest trends for tomorrow’s cars and trucks,
and this year, the big trend is fuel-efficient vehicles. Cleaner cars have been promised
before, but Dustin Dwyer reports that this year’s green car concepts could be more than
just an attempt to polish up a dirty image for the auto industry:


The press previews for this year’s Detroit auto show were made up of three straight days
of back-to-back new product launches. Dozens of new vehicles were unveiled. Hundreds
of glossy brochures were offered to reporters, and nothing generated as much interest as
the new Chevrolet Volt concept vehicle:


(Sound of buzzing)


A packed crowd gathered for the flashy and noisy unveiling. GM executives announced
that the concept car could run up to 40 miles without using a single drop of fuel. It runs
instead on electricity cranked out by its next-generation lithium-ion batteries. When the
liquid fuel system eventually does kick in, it recharges the battery for better fuel
economy, getting up to 150 miles per gallon.


And as GM CEO Rick Wagoner told the audience, the Chevy Volt represents a new way
of thinking for the world’s largest automaker. It comes from a realization that oil alone is
highly unlikely to supply enough energy for all of tomorrow’s vehicles:


“For the global auto industry, this means that we must as a business necessity, develop
alternative sources of propulsion based on alternative sources of energy in order to meet the
world’s growing demand for our products.”


GM wasn’t the only automaker to unveil a fuel conscious vehicle at this year’s auto show.
Ford’s Airstream concept, and Toyota’s FT-HS sports car concept both featured hybrid
style powertrain systems, backed by a lithium-ion battery.


It might not be all that surprising for automakers to release such vehicles after a year in
which gas prices surged beyond three dollars a gallon, but analyst Jim Hall of Auto
Pacific says gas prices aren’t the reason for automakers to get into low or no emission
vehicles.


“You do it for two reasons, one, the potential of getting out of the business of making a
mechanical engine that has to be machined and made of multiple pieces and assembled,
and the other part of it is, you never have to spend another penny on emissions controls,
and emissions research, and emissions development and emissions engineering, which, at
every major car company is billions of dollars.”


So, basically, greener technology will eventually be cheaper technology. That means that
for perhaps the first time in the history of the auto industry, the interests of
environmentalists and the interest of business-minded bean counters are finally in line.


The big question now is how to get to that greener future. The concepts at this year’s
Detroit auto show all point to lithium-ion batteries as the next frontier. These batteries
are more powerful, and potentially cheaper than the batteries in today’s hybrids, but
they’re also less stable, and don’t last as long.


GM executives say they think they can resolve those issues and have a lithium-ion
powered vehicle by the end of the decade, but Jim Hall says no way:


“I worked on an electric vehicle program when I was employed in the auto industry
directly, and I learned that there are three kinds of liars in the world. There are liars,
damn liars and battery engineers.”


Of course, not everyone agrees with Hall’s assessment. Some lithium-ion proponents
even argue that the technology could be ready to go right now. Ford, General Motors and
the Chrysler Group have asked the federal government for more funding to speed-
development of lithium-ion batteries.


They say the Japanese government is giving its car companies several hundred million
dollars for battery development, and they want a comparable effort from the US
government. But even if Detroit automakers don’t get the money, almost everyone agrees
that big changes are coming for the auto industry, and that decades-long battle between
the good of the environment and the good of carmakers could be coming to a close.


For the Environment Report, I’m Dustin Dwyer.

Related Links

Reducing Ground Level Ozone Pollution

  • Russ Adams mows his lawn with an electric lawnmower. He does so to reduce local air pollution such as ozone. (Photo by Christina Shockley)

Summer can be a perfect time for barbeques, weekend trips, and yard work. But those very things contribute to a summertime health hazard. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Christina Shockley reports:

Transcript

Summer can be a perfect time for barbeques, weekend trips, and yard
work. But those very things contribute to a summertime health hazard. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Christina Shockley reports:


(sound of gasoline-powered lawn mower)


This time of year, it takes just a short walk along pretty much any residential
street to find someone mowing their lawn.


(crossfade, gas-powered lawn mower sound out, electric mower sound up)


But if you walk past the Minneapolis home of Russ Adams, you might take a
second look.


“My neighbors came over… they were a little bashful ’cause they
weren’t sure how to pose the question. But they wanted to know what I was
doing in my yard and what that machine was. They thought it was some kind of
new-fangled mulcher or something.”


That mulcher is actually an electric lawnmower. The mower is a sleek red and
black. It’s about the same size as a gasoline mower. There’s no cord running
to it. It runs on a battery. There’s a plug on the back of the main unit
that’s used to charge it.


(sound of garage door opening)


“Okay, so this is the garage. Just plug it in
right here, and really it doesn’t take long for it to juice up. And you just
leave it plugged in, and as soon as it’s fully charged it stops drawing on the
electricity, so it’s energy-efficient even in the recharging mode.”


Adams says the main reason he uses the electric mower is that it’s just one way
he can help improve air quality in his city. And as small a step as that
seems, emissions from small engines such as lawnmowers do cause air quality
problems.


Rebecca Helgesen is with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. She says one
major summertime problem is ozone. Helgesen says human activity creates the
ingredients in ozone.


“Certainly motor vehicle exhaust and chemical solvents are major
sources. Also, industrial emissions and gasoline vapors.”


The chemicals stew and combine with hot, humid conditions to increase ground
level ozone.


“When the air is stagnant – not moving very much, and it’s hot and
sunny, that’s when you see the chemical reaction that creates ozone.


Helgesen says the Environmental Protection Agency forecasts ozone, so people
will know ahead of time when not to mow their lawns or to stay indoors. The
forecast is called an Air Quality Index. It uses color codes. On a “yellow”
day, the air is dangerous for sensitive people. On a “red” day, everyone is
encouraged to limit outdoor activity. Ground level ozone can cause lung
damage. Helgesen says breathing ozone isn’t good for anyone, especially those
with asthma.


“You’re coughing more, you may find you have some tightness in your
chest, or uncomfortable. You may find that you’re tired more easily.. all of
those mean that there has been some compromising of your lungs.”


Ozone levels start to fall in the evening as people stop driving, as the sun
sets and the air cools. Helgesen says the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
encourages people to wait to pump gas, drive, and mow their lawns until 7 or 8
at night.


Getting people to do these things is where the organization, Clean Air
Minnesota, comes in. Its members include an unusual mix of business groups,
environmental groups and others.


Bill Droessler is the group’s program director. He says Minneapolis-St. Paul doesn’t
have a big ozone problem, like some other cities… yet. Clean Air Minnesota wants to keep it that
way. If levels go up, the federal government could impose restrictive – and
costly – regulations. Droessler says his group holds on-site training programs
at participating businesses to get people to take action.


“Postpone landscaping things, use of internal combustion engines as late as
possible on those days. Avoiding backyard recreational fires.”


He says even using newer gas cans that don’t let vapors escape as easily helps
reduce ozone. Droessler says he hopes people will take the time to make just one change to
help reduce ozone levels.


Russ Adams sees his electric mower as his one small action. He concedes that
the electric mower does use electricity. But while coal-burning power plants
do pollute, his electric mower is better for air quality than a gas-powered
mower.


“My argument is that if everybody had an electric mower, then we’d be cutting
down on the air quality problem. Wouldn’t solve it, but we’d be making a good dent.
I mean, I talk to my friends all the time about how fun it is to use this
mower.”


Shockley: “So I press it down… and pull back…”
Adams: “There you go.”
Shockley: “Oh, it’s very easy!”


(sound of electric mower)


Adams: “Now what I want you to do, is do this part of the yard in the back. I’ll go in and
have some tea, maybe some orange juice, and then we can tackle the front yard
after you’re done back here.”


Shockley: “Okay, that sounds great.” (laughter)


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Christina Shockley.


(mower noise fades out)

Related Links

Electrical Charges Zap Pollution

  • A worker samples polluted mud in a test pit. Researchers are trying to break down contaminants in the mud using electrical charges. A German company developed the technology, which U.S. officials hope will be cheaper than dredging polluted sediments. Photo courtesy of MPR.

One of the biggest challenges facing Great Lakes water quality comes from polluted harbors. Scores of underwater sites have been identified, but cleanup has been painfully slow. Now, some people are taking a new approach – they’re using an electrical charge to clean up pollutants. It’s the first test in this country of the system. Supporters say it’s cheaper and faster than conventional methods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bob Kelleher reports:

Transcript

One of the biggest challenges facing Great Lakes water quality comes from
polluted harbors. Scores of underwater sites have been identified, but
cleanup has been painfully slow. Now, some people are taking a new
approach – they’re using an electrical charge to clean up pollutants. It’s
the first test in this country of the system. Supporters say it’s cheaper
and faster than conventional methods. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Bob Kelleher reports:


Stryker Bay is a lovely little cove alongside the St. Louis River, near Lake
Superior, in Duluth, Minnesota. It’s a gentle water with ducks in the
summer; and a shady hiking path along the shore.


Tim Leland lives along the shore. From his home, he sees waterfowl, and
fouled water.


“Stryker Bay is a shallow bay. It’s six foot at the most of water.
But there’s a silt that’s underneath it, and all this tar and stuff that’s
coming up. Summertime there we do have a lot of oil that makes the surface
there.”


The bottom of Stryker Bay is a biological time bomb. Under the sand, are
pools of oily stuff – that experts call polynuclear aromatic-hydrocarbons,
or PAH’s. For nearly a century, Stryker Bay was an industrial sewer. PAH’s
were first identified under the bay in the 1970’s. That tar like stuff is
still there. There’s not enough money and little agreement how to get rid
of it.


But what if you could make pollution go away by throwing a switch? That’s
essentially what a German based company promises. And U.S. officials are
listening. The first underwater test in the United States of
Electrochemical-GeoOxidation treatment is underway in Duluth. And early
results show promise. It’s a simple concept, according to Ken Whittle with
Electro Petroleum Inc., who describes the process underway behind him in a
pair of water-filled pits.


“It’s a pretty simple kind of thing. If you want to look at it;
if you have a battery charger at home, you plug the battery charger in, you
take the two leads and you connect them to the terminals on a battery. Well,
that’s pretty analogous to what’s going on here.”


Each pit is filled with polluted mud and covered with water. Metal pipes
are sunken into the muck. In one pit, a carefully controlled electrical
charge pushes electrons through the sediment between the pipes. It’s
supposed to break the electron bonds of dangerous molecules; like PAH’s.
What’s left is harmless – like carbon and water.


The test is financed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers: the agency responsible for dredging shipping lanes.
Dealing with polluted sediment is a huge expense, according to Army Corps
researcher Tommy Myers.


“It’s a real big problem for us to dispose of that material. We
can’t put it back into the water. And, typically, we confine it in what we
call a confined disposal facility, and just store the material into
perpetuity and let it break down by natural processes, if it will.”


Officials would rather destroy pollutants than store them, but conventional
methods are expensive, smelly, and noisy. And they all require dredging,
and that’s expensive.


“In this particular technology, it wouldn’t necessarily require
dredging. There’s very little noise or gaseous emissions associated with
it. The main thing is it could be applied in situ; that means in the water,
without having to dredge.”


Proponents say Electrochemical-GeoOxidation is a bargain. Pollution
officials say conventional methods might cost as much as 200 dollars to
clean up a single cubic yard of sediment from Stryker Bay. But, according
to David Bowman with the Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit, electrical
cleanup might cost a quarter of that.


“Our goal with this project was to find a technology that would
work for around one hundred dollars per cubic yard. The vendor talked about
that they might be able to treat material for around forty five to fifty
dollars per cubic yard at Duluth Harbor.”


And the contractor claims the process works fast. A typical site can be
cleaned in just a few months. It’s also supposed to work on metals, like
mercury, which attach to the electrodes, which can then be disposed of in a
hazardous waste facility.


In the Duluth test, PAH’s have decreased by forty five percent in about a
month. That’s promising, although far from conclusive. The process
won’t get every molecule, but it’s intended to reduce contaminants below
dangerous levels.


Tests began in Duluth this summer, but results are several months away.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bob Kelleher.

Battery-Powering Bacteria

U.S. scientists have identified bacteria that can eat pollution and generate electricity at the same time. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports: