Category: ISTC Projects

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Triclosan Shown to Trigger Resistance in Aquatic Ecosystems

A widely used compound to prevent bacterial contamination is persisting in the environment and creating antibacterial resistant strains of bacteria.

 

That is the conclusion of a study by researchers at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign, IL, Loyola University Chicago, and the Cary institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY. The study was published in Environmental Science and Technology a journal of the American Chemical Society.

 

Triclosan is a broad-spectrum anti-microbial compound used in a large variety of consumer products from soap to cosmetics to clothing. The Food and Drug Administration approved the substance and after reports of possible side effects, recently reviewed their own findings, announcing that there is not enough evidence to determine the substance is hazardous.
Meanwhile Proctor and Gamble announced recently they are phasing out the use of Triclosan in its products.

 

John Scott, ISTC’s senior chemist, was co-Principal Investigator with Loyola Biology Professor John J. Kelly in the research which confirmed the presence of Triclosan in stream sediment in the Chicago metropolitan region. Sources for Triclosan contamination includes domestic wastewater, traced to broken sewer pipes and releases of untreated wastewater during high rainfall events.

 

First they conducted field surveys which indicated Triclosan concentrations increased in more highly urbanized areas. They found a significant correlation between the concentration of Triclosan on the stream bottom and Triclosan-resistant bacteria present. Controlled experiments in an artificial stream confirmed the compound triggers resistance and shifts the diversity and composition of bacterial communities. The consequences of altered bacterial communities have not been determined.

 

 

Sphingobacteria
Sphingobacteria is one type most impacted for community composition by Triclosan.
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First Training Accreditation to Improve Home Weatherization in Illinois

Training programs for Energy Auditors and Quality Control Inspectors at the University of Illinois’ Indoor Climate Research & Training (ICRT) program have been awarded accreditation by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc.(IREC).

 

The ICRT energy conservation training programs are the first to earn accreditation in Illinois. Successful completion of such training programs prepares workers to obtain Home Energy Professional (HEP) certification under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). There are 35 local agencies delivering weatherization services in the state of Illinois, including CEDA in Chicago, which is the nation’s largest weatherization agency.

 

“It means we are recognized as having a high-quality curriculum that meets all the requirements of DOE’s Home Energy Professional certification for Energy Auditor and Quality Control Inspector,” said Paul Francisco, the Director of the ICRT training center. “Someone who successfully completes our training program can feel confident that he or she has everything they need to pass the HEP examination.”

 

ICRT is part of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), a division of the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at the University of Illinois. It operates a training center for weatherization contractors, assessors and develops training curricula for the national home performance industry.  ICRT also performs research into issues related to residential energy and indoor air quality.

 

Accreditation affects the certifications for Energy Auditor and Quality Control Inspector now offered under the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program. The Quality Control program was granted provisional accreditation since it has been available for less than a year.

 

There are a limited number of accredited weatherization training programs in the U.S., according to Francisco. The next goal for ICRT is to seek accreditation for its Retrofit Installers Training Program, he added.

 

Also a research engineer at ISTC, Francisco’s research focuses on energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and their interactions in residential buildings. His work emphasizes building science principles and understanding the ‘House as a System’ approach that includes both energy and the indoor environment. He is a member of the ad hoc Health and Safety Committee for DOE’s low-income Weatherization Assistance Program and a member of the Board of Directors of the Building Performance Institute.  He is also vice-chair of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Environmental Health Committee and the chair of the ASHRAE standard on residential ventilation.

 

Congress created WAP in 1976 to decrease residential energy expenditures, particularly of low-income Americans. WAP has distributed $200-250 million to weatherize about 100,000 homes per year nationwide. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) allocated $5 billion through March, 2013 to weatherize some 300,000 homes per year and to stimulate the economy by providing new jobs in the weatherization field.

 

Accreditation of training programs help drive effectiveness of WAP’s energy savings and health and safety goals, in addition to overall cost-effectiveness of the program, Francisco noted. He estimated that the ICRT program trained 300 workers and 300 contractors in Illinois during the ARRA period.

 

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Campus-wide Sustainable Electronics Consortium Formed

On Oct. 2, 2013, a group of interested individuals on the U of I campus met to discuss the issues involving the environmental and social impacts of electronics and the current relevant policies, education, and research taking place.  As a major public university that purchases, uses and disposes of thousands of electronics, we have a duty to address these issues and lead by example to “green up our act.”

 

An overview of the issues and what ISTC (through its Sustainable Electronics Initiative) and other entities are doing on campus with regards to electronics involving  education, research, and operations was explained by Joy Scrogum (SEI Co-Coordinator), who led the meeting, as well as possible activities and goals for this campus group. Attendees provided feedback on these suggestions, group structure, and themes for possible future smaller group meetings focusing on those three categories of research, education, and operations. ISTC/SEI will distribute minutes, make arrangements for the themed focus group meetings, and coordinate the sharing of information among those subgroups.

 

The result was a new Sustainable Electronics Campus Consortium which explored ways to address the issue. Present were engineers, faculty, administrators, students and participants from off-campus communities.  Anyone interested in joining the Sustainable Electronics Campus Consortium talks can contact Joy Scrogum to be added to the email list of upcoming meetings and topics or visit the SEI Campus Consortium page.

 

 

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Congrats to Technology Assistance Program at U of I

The Technology Assistance Program which helps local governments and companies prevent pollution and conserve resources received a national MVP2 Award in Washington DC earlier this month. The ICORE program received its Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award for saving Illinois more than $6 million over the past four years.

The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable (NPPR) award went to ICORE’s PI, Debra Jacobson and to ISTC environmental engineers Dan Marsch, Mike Springman. The Illinois Conservation of Resources and Energy (ICORE) project is part of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and focuses its efforts on populations in small, rural communities in parts of the state which have had little access to conservation or pollution prevention programs. More about the program and the award is available at: http://www.istc.illinois.edu/news/news1.cfm

 

(L to R) Jeff Burke, Executive Director the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable congratulates Dan Marsch and Michael Springman on the award of a Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award in Washington D.C.

 

(L to R) Jeff Burke, Executive Director the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable congratulates Dan Marsch and Michael Springman on the award of a Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award in Washington D.C.

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Engineer Introduces Thermally-Reversible Polymer to Desalination

According to water.org, 780 million people lack access to clean water. The need to provide access to clean water is one of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges for Engineering.

 

At noon this Thursday, Sept 12, Dr. Xinying Wang will present “Polymer Assisted Forward Osmosis for Desalination and Water Reuse,” at U of I’s Mechanical Engineering Building, Rm. 218 (1206 W Green St. in Urbana, IL).

 

This webinar, as part of the ISTC’s Sustainable Technology Seminar Series “Sustainability in Action,” will be broadcast live and also archived on our website www.istc.illinois.edu for later viewing. If you cannot attend the event at Rm. 218 MEB, you may view the webinar live by registering at: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/864226367. It will also be viewable live at the ISTC Conference Room at 1 Hazelwood Dr., Champaign, IL.

 

Dr. Wang is a Chemical Engineer at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, Prairie Research Institute. The following is his abstract for the seminar:

 

“Forward osmosis (FO) for dewatering/desalination applications has received increasing interest due to its potential use of low grade thermal energy, ability to operate at low pressure, and  reduced tendency to foul. Developments in FO are primarily focused on two areas: (a) expanding the availability of draw solutions that generate high osmotic pressure; are easily separated from water using physical and/or chemical means; are non-corrosive, nontoxic, and chemically stable; exhibit near neutral pH; and are inexpensive and (b) developing membranes that exhibit high flux and suitable salt rejection under FO conditions. In this presentation we focus on the challenges of draw solution utilization and regeneration.

 

In this presentation, we will talk about a forward osmosis desalination process that employs a temperature-reversible polymer to recycle the draw solute. In our work, a high concentration MgSO4 solution is used as draw solution. After forward osmosis, the diluted draw solution is mixed with a thermally-reversible polymer, poly (propyleneoxide) –co-poly (ethyleneoxide). This polymer extracts water from the diluted draw solution and the whole solution forms two phases, a polymer-water phase and a concentrated MgSO4 solution phase (bottom). The bottom MgSO4 solution phase is recycled back to the forward osmosis module, while the polymer-water phase is heated above the polymer’s cloudy point (60⁰C) to recycle the polymer and to produce clean water.  Experimental details on the process will be presented.”

 

 

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ISTC Co-Sponsors C-U Area Medicine Take-back Program

The C-U Area Medicine Take-back Program will give area residents the opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted or expired medications 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week, via locked collection boxes in the lobbies of the Champaign, Urbana, and University of Illinois Police Departments. The program is a partnership between the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Champaign Police Department, Urbana Police Department, University of Illinois Police Department, Champaign County sheriff’s office, the National Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal Program, the cities of Champaign and Urbana, Illinois American Water, the University of Illinois Student Sustainability Committee, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department, WCIA and the Prairie Rivers Network.

 

This is the first pharmaceutical take-back program in Champaign County to be able to collect controlled substances. Both prescription and over-the-counter medicines, as well as veterinary pharmaceuticals will be accepted. The goals of the program are to reduce accidental poisonings of children and pets, prevent drug diversion and abuse, and limit environmental impacts from storage or improper disposal of unwanted or expired medicines.

 

ISTC’s Elizabeth Luber will be on hand at the Champaign Police Department on May 24th from 4-6 p.m. for the kick off of the new collection program.

 

See the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant news release on the program, as well as the News-Gazette article, for more information.

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ISTC Seeks Web Applications Development Specialist

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is looking for a qualified individual to develop, maintain and evaluate Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) websites and database driven web applications with responsibility for training staff on the use of the applications through various modes of communication.

 

Salary for this position is $55,000 – $60,000 per year commensurate with experience and education. This is a regular, academic professional, full-time grant supported 12-month position renewable each academic year upon satisfactory progress within the position. The estimated starting date is May 16, 2013 (negotiable).

 

Please see https://jobs.illinois.edu/academic-job-board/job-details?jobID=29791&job=web-applications-development-specialist-division-of-illinois-sustainable-technology-center-a1300091 for the complete job description, required education and experience, and instructions for application. Applications must be received by March, 29, 2013.

 

For further information please contact Erica Hanson, Human Resources, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, 217-333-6897. For technical questions, please contact: Nancy Holm, Search Committee Member.

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2013 Naturally Illinois Expo

 


The Prairie Research Institute presents the fifth annual Naturally Illinois Expo on March 8-9, 2013, on the University of Illinois Urbana campus. Families, teachers, and students of all ages are invited to attend and enjoy exhibits, demonstrations and hands-on activities that showcase the work of the Institute, home of the State Scientific Surveys (Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois State Water Survey, and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center).  Continue reading “2013 Naturally Illinois Expo”

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November 15 is America Recycles Day

Happy America Recycles Day! Celebrated annually on November 15 since 1997, America Recycles Day is a program of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. and is about educating the public about how and what to recycle, while encouraging people to do so as part of their daily routine. Those of us who were alive in the 1970s will remember Keep America Beautiful, or KAB, as the folks who brought us the public service campaign involving a Native American man weeping while bearing witness to thoughtless pollution. (You can watch a clip of that famous public service announcement featuring Iron Eyes Cody, and read more about KAB’s history on the organization’s web site.) As a child in the 70s, I suppose those PSAs, along with learning from Woodsy Owl to “Give a Hoot” and not pollute, marked the beginning of my personal journey to working on environmental protection and promoting pollution prevention and sustainability to businesses and citizens in Illinois and beyond.

 

ISTC provides a lot of information relevant to America Recycles Day through its various projects and web sites. On the Sustainable Electronics Initiative web site, you’ll find a fact sheet on Electronics Take-Back and Donation Programs that will help you learn about recycling options, or if you’re interested in selling devices for some extra cash or donating your electronics for a good cause. SEI also provides an extensive Summary of U.S. State Laws on Electronic Waste and Disposal Bans so you can learn what laws, if any, apply in your area. The Law & Policy section of the SEI web site will also help you learn about regulations on the local, federal and international levels, as well as providing more information on voluntary initiatives. The SEI Resources section also provides links on various aspects of electronics recycling. Read about the existing Certification programs on the SEI site to learn about what is involved in the responsible recycling of electronic devices. SEI also provides a RefWorks Database of journal articles on sustainable electronics and e-waste, which includes downloadable citations. And SEI’s International E-Waste Design Competition provides inspiration for the recycling and reuse of electronics scrap, as well as greener electronic product design, through a contest open to current university students and recent graduates from around the globe.

 

On the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) web site, the extensive Sector Resources section provides information on Recycling & Waste Exchange, Product Stewardship, Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (if you’re interested in products with recycled content among other considerations), Electronic Waste, and Sustainable Product Design (again, relevant to items incorporating recycled materials or those that were designed with recycling in mind). Construction & Demolition provides information on recycling wastes associated with those activities. In the Topic Hubs section of the site, you’ll find a resource on Industrial Composting developed by the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx). The GLRPPR Funding Opportunities page provides information on grants to support sustainability activities including recycling. For example, the IL DCEO’s Recycling Grants Program provides technical assistance and grants for capital equipment to governmental entities, private businesses, and not-for-profit organizations for projects involving paper, plastic, metal and glass; the deadline for that program is November 19.

 

ISTC’s Librarian and GLRPPR Executive Director, Laura Barnes, has developed several subject guides for the collection of such guides on the Prairie Research Institute Library web site. The guides on Battery Recycling and  Lamp Recycling and Disposal are excellent resources to consult on America Recycles Day as you learn more about what you can do to recycle more items in your day to day life.

 

So even though recycling may seem like a simple concept that you’ve heard lots about, take some time today to consider all the ways you can incorporate recycling into your work and personal life. Odds are, there’s room for improvement, and every little bit helps!

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2012 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards

A pair of environmental recognition programs have joined together to honor Illinois organizations that have accomplished significant achievements in protecting the environment and helping to sustain the future. Winners of the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards and the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact Awards Program were presented during a luncheon in Oak Brook, IL.  Continue reading “2012 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards”