LINGERING CONCERNS — The collapse of the World Trade Center towers led to the release of millions of pounds of debris, much of which was distributed as particles and aerosols. Argonne scientists are bringing researchers together to discuss effects of aerosols released during the collapse and subsequent fires, including possible health hazards.

Aerosols released in 9-11 attack under study

By Rhianna Wisniewski

Argonne scientists are bringing researchers together to discuss the effects of aerosols released during the Sept. 11, 2001, collapse of the World Trade Center towers and the subsequent fires.

Argonne Senior Chemist Jeffrey Gaffney and Chemist Nancy Marley of the Environmental Research Division have organized a symposium on urban aerosols and their impact for the 226th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in New York City from Sept. 7-11. The chemists will present their results to the ACS’s Division of Environmental Chemistry. The symposium, organized by Gaffney and Marley, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 10.

According to Gaffney, the World Trade Center collapse led to the release of millions of pounds of debris, much of which was distributed as particles and aerosols in the debris cloud that hung over Manhattan. Aerosols are solid or liquid particles suspended in air ranging in size from 0.01 microns (there are 25,400 microns in an inch) to several tens of microns.

Although the aerosols released in the collapse were a combination of coarse and fine aerosols, those that were released through continuing fires underneath the debris were fine, combustion-related aerosols.

Gaffney will preside over the symposium’s session I and Marley over session II, where experts from around the country and from Canada will present papers on the lifetimes, transport and removal process of aerosols; the acute and chronic health effects from fine aerosol exposure; and the environmental impacts of aerosols.

“We have measured the coarse and fine fractions of aerosols released from the World Trade Center. These were released from both the original tragedy as well as from fires afterwards,” Gaffney said. “The symposium will have lectures from those who have looked at both aspects of this, risk assessment and the health affects.”

The symposium will bring together atmospheric chemists, meteorologists, health workers, and biologists for a discussion on what they know and what they need to know regarding the composition and transport of aerosols in urban environments, especially those from the World Trade Center collapse.

Marley and Gaffney will also present a paper, which will focus on the importance of chemical and physical properties of aerosols, how this determines how long these aerosols stay in the atmosphere, and how they are transported throughout the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere.

In their paper, they also explain that the fine aerosols produced by the fires in the debris of the World Trade Center were in the air long enough and were small enough to travel deep into the lungs of humans.

They also explain that aerosols can affect the atmosphere in a number of ways, one being that they can scatter incoming solar radiation, directly cooling the atmosphere.

Gaffney said that although learning about the effects of aerosols released from the World Trade Center collapse and fire is important, the symposium has a much larger purpose. He hopes the symposium will help to create an awareness of the possible health and climate problems that aerosols pose.

ANL-W kicks off its 2003 United Way Drive

Argonne-West began its 2003 United Way fundraising drive Aug. 28 with a barbecue, a car show, basketball, golf and a tug-of-war, won by the Facilities Division for the second straight year.

A total of $815 was raised to start Argonne-West’s United Way drive. Maureen Finnerty (NT) organized the barbecue and activities. Heather Fennen, the drive’s vice-chairperson, was in charge of the raffle. Tom Haynes and Dave Ellis (both FAC) oversaw the golf event, John Ammon (NPS) provided the music, Dave Snell and Guy Strayer (both FAC) were in charge of the basketball game, Doug Schwartzenberger (FAC) organized the car show, and Dennis Horvath (NPS) was the master of ceremonies.

The 2003 Argonne-West United Way Fundraising Drive will continue until Sept. 24. More events are planned, including a fun run, bake sale, raffle and silent auction.

Lab hosts future X-ray, neutron researchers

By Rhianna Wisniewski

Sixty graduate students from across the country recently spent two weeks at Argonne learning about the theory, techniques and applicability of major neutron and X-ray facilities.

The fifth annual National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering taught graduate students the foundations of neutron and X-ray scattering theory, instrumentation, widely-used neutron and X-ray scattering techniques and their theories and applications.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the school was jointly conducted by Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs, the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) Division, Advanced Photon Source (APS) and the Materials Science Division.

According to physicist and school scientific director Ray Osborn, the school is held at Argonne because it is the only site with both a neutron source and an X-ray synchrotron source in the United States. It is also the only place able to provide experimental opportunities to students in both techniques.

Students attended more than 36 hours of lectures in two weeks, which centered on the theoretical background they would need to understand how to plan and interpret neutron and X-ray scattering experiments.

This background was presented to the students in a multitude of lectures, covering topics from X-ray generation and detection to crystal diffraction and reflectivity. Argonne lecturers included Dennis Mills (APS), Murray Gibson (APS), Pappannan Thiyagarajan (IPNS), Wolfgang Struhahn (APS) and former Argonne scientist Sunil Sinha (University of California, San Diego). Jonathan Lang (APS) and Chris Benmore (IPNS) coordinated experiments.

Other lecturers were from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the University of Missouri-Columbia, Northwestern University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bell Laboratories/Lucent Technologies, Northern Illinois University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Experiments were conducted in stations at both the IPNS and the APS. The Intense Pulsed Neutron Source is the nation’s most reliable source for neutrons for studying the atomic arrangements of motions in liquids and solids. It is used to explore the structures of materials that contain atoms of the lighter elements, like hydrogen and oxygen.

APS is a national research facility that produces the most brilliant X-rays in the Western Hemisphere. Its uses range from examining the molecules that trigger allergies to discovering new ways to improve crops and clean up the environment.

Jason McClure, a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the school helped him gain a broader research perspective and to recognize ideas he could apply to his work.

“Most schools do not have X-ray scattering facilities,” McClure said. “Here there is a class accompanied by an opportunity to do actual experiments that I wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to do in a university setting.”

Osborn hoped the school would inspire future researchers to take full advantage of the many scientific opportunities provided by scattering techniques.

“This school provides a unique opportunity for young scientists to learn about major facilities and to improve their future and the future of science as a whole,” said organizing committee member Dean Haeffner (XFD).

Harold Myron, director of the Division of Educational Programs, said the results of a survey taken during the last five years showed that students who completed this program had gone on to use facilities all over the United States.

NEOS team wins Beale-Orchard-Hays Prize

Mathematics and Computer Science Division researchers and their collaborators have won the prestigious Beale-Orchard-Hays prize for Excellence in Computational Mathematical Programming.

The award was presented Aug. 18 at the 18th International Symposium on Mathematical Programming in Copenhagen for the paper “Optimization on the NEOS Server,” by Elizabeth Dolan, Robert Fourer, Jorge Moré and Todd Munson.

Moré is a senior computer scientist and Munson is an Enrico Fermi Scholar in the MCS Division. Dolan, now a graduate student at the University of North Carolina, was the NEOS administrator during the past four years. Robert Fourer is a professor at Northwestern University.

The NEOS Server is a facility for solving optimization problems over the Internet. NEOS (for Network-Enabled Optimization System) is now the premier source of information on the Web for users of optimization software. It has more than 5,000 users and more than 130,000 job submissions per year.

The Beale-Orchard-Hays prize is awarded once every three years.

More information on the prize and the award-winning paper is online.

ASK THE DIRECTORATE

Q: I think a jogging path around the APS perimeter is needed. These folks who exercise outside are road hazards, as they are often in the street, and as a car approaches from beyond a hill it is impossible to see them until you are right at their footsteps. You can avoid an accident because the speed limit is so low on-site, but the fact that joggers/walkers are in the way and startle me is the point. Also, if they would move, the cars could accelerate to an ergonomically feasible speed (i.e. it is awkward and hurts my foot to go less than 30 mph -- cars aren’t designed for extended driving like that).

A: While a jogging path would reduce the likelihood of a meeting between a car and a jogger or walker, such a decision needs to be based on risk, and the value to Argonne’s site as a whole needs to be balanced with the limited resources available.  There are currently several approaches to reducing the safety risk without the expenditure of significant funds for a jogging path. There are already several paths available around the site that can be used for walking and jogging, and several of the roads, particularly on the south end of the site, are less traveled and thus present less risk to those participating in recreational activities.

Further, there are actions the lab can and has taken to improve visibility of joggers and walkers when using the roads, for example, recommending wearing reflective gear. In addition, an article is published in the Argonne News annually to remind people of ways to be safe when using the roads for recreation and to encourage them to avoid certain high traffic areas.

Finally, the speed limit on the site needs to be maintained.  I understand that the speed limit may seem low; however, it is consistent with the guidelines for speed limits in Illinois when the level of use, construction of the road, and visibility are taken into account. If ergonomic difficulty is an issue in the workplace (including getting to and from the work site), Argonne does have an ergonomic subject matter expert (Carol Giles, EQO, ext. 2-3427) who is available to address specific concerns, and further, the Medical Department can be consulted for advice.

“Ask the Directorate” lets employees ask senior Argonne management direct questions about the laboratory’s operations, policy, strategy, mission, budget and goals. Employees should continue to refer job- or workplace-specific questions to their immediate supervisors.

Employees may submit questions to askthedirectorate@anl.gov or fax them to 2-5274. Only questions that include the name of the questioner and contact information, such as e-mail address, office extension or fax number, will be answered.

An appropriate member of the Argonne Directorate will answer each question, and the answer will be sent directly to the employee. In addition, the Argonne News will periodically print selected responses, and all answers will be posted on the Web at www.anl.gov/OPA/local/askthedirectorate/.

Questioners will remain anonymous in the Argonne News and on the Web.

A link to the Ask-the-Directorate Web site can be found on the Inside Argonne home page at www.inside.anl.gov/.

Homeland security official tours ANL-West

Charles McQueary, undersecretary for science and technology at the Department of Homeland Security, toured Argonne-West Aug. 19.

While at Argonne-West, McQueary, his chief of staff, Victor Tambone, and Sondra Bowyer toured the Analytical Laboratory and the Hot Fuel Examination and the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facilities. The tour offered McQueary and his staff a greater understanding of the breadth and depth of homeland security work at Argonne-West and highlighted the opportunities its unique facilities afford the new department.

The tours were led by Steve Aumeier, deputy associate laboratory director for Engineering Research and Starnes Walker, acting associate laboratory director for national security, who had invited McQueary to Argonne-West.

Penn State prof tours, speaks at ANL-West

Barry E. Scheetz of Pennsylvania State University, a professor of Materials, Civil and Nuclear Engineering, toured Argonne-West Aug. 14 and presented a seminar on waste forms for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes.

Scheetz spoke on the development of a vitrifiable hydroceramic waste form for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes currently housed at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory.

Scheetz toured the Hot Fuel Examination Facility and met with one of his graduate students, Mary Lou D. Gougar, who has been performing research at the Idaho site. Gougar plans to complete her Ph.D. through the Penn State Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering this fall. Her work, as advised by Professor Scheetz and Michael F. Simpson (ENT), includes experiments to support development and verification of an analytical model she developed to predict the distribution of spent nuclear fuel waste species between zeolite and pyroprocess salt. Such a model may be used to support the development of a salt recycling process for the future electrometallurgical treatment of various spent nuclear fuel types.

IN MEMORIAM

Beatrice Schriesheim, 73, wife of Argonne director emeritus Alan Schriesheim, and an active member of the Chicago community, died Aug. 30, as a result of ovarian cancer.

Mrs. Schriesheim spearheaded major renovation and facility beautification projects at Argonne, initiated the Arts at Argonne Program and was instrumental in starting and helping develop the Argonne Child Development Center. In June 1996, the center was dedicated to her and named the “Beatrice Schriesheim Child Development Center.”

Mrs. Schriesheim served on the board of the League of Women Voters and volunteered at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1989, she was elected president of the Chicago Chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS), which funds scholarships for gifted college science students in the Chicagoland area. She also served on both the National Board and the Advisory Council of the National Board of ARCS. Mrs. Schriesheim was also on the Board of the Chicago Chapter of SOS Children’s Village (Joliet), and was a member of the Garfield Park Council Ring.

Mrs. Schriesheim is survived by her husband Alan, daughter Laura, son-in-law Bob Kriss, son Robert, daughter-in-law Kris Schriesheim, and six grandchildren: Carolyn and Carl Kriss and Karen, Eric, David and Rebecca Schriesheim.

Services will be held at the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6.

Chess Club seeks team players

The Argonne Chess Club is looking for Argonne, DOE or contractor employees interested in playing for Argonne’s team in the Chicago Industrial Chess League. The Argonne Rooks play a 10-match schedule from September through April with home and away games against teams from BP, Fermilab, Lucent and Molex. For more information, contact Bob Hill (NE)at ext. 2-4865 or bobhill@ anl.gov, or Dave Baurac (OPA) at ext. 2-5584 or baurac@anl.gov.

CIS CLASSES

Classes offered by Computing and Instrumentation Solutions are held in Argonne-East’s Building 201, Room 167. Unless otherwise specified, class sizes are limited to eight participants and cost $215. Complete computer class descriptions, schedules and enrollment forms are available online. For information about enrollment, contact Diane Cavazos (ECT) at ext. 2-7153 or dkcavazos @anl.gov.

October classes:

“Introduction to Access 2000” (CIS102) -- Wednesday, Oct. 1, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

“Introduction to Word 2000” (CIS100) -- Thursday, Oct. 2, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

“Introduction to Excel 2000” (CIS101) -- Friday, Oct. 3, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

“Introduction to PowerPoint 2000” (CIS106) -- Monday, Oct. 6, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

“Advanced PowerPoint 2000” (CIS107) -- Tuesday, Oct. 7, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Tabs benefit families of sick kids

The Argonne Combined Appeal (ACA) is collecting pop-top tabs from canned drinks to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

The ACA will collect the tabs until late January 2004. The tabs will be recycled and the proceeds presented to the Ronald McDonald House.

Ronald McDonald Houses provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children who are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Some children need to travel great distances to get the medical attention they need, and their treatment may last one day, a year or even longer. For the families of these children, accommodations can be hard to come by; options are often limited to costly hotels or hospital chairs and benches.

The Ronald McDonald House provides a comfortable, supportive temporary residence where family members can sleep, eat, relax and find support from other families in similar situations. In return, families are asked to make a donation ranging from $5 to $20 per day; if that isn’t possible, their stay is free. This pop-tab collection will assist in ensuring a place to stay for these families.

Tabs can be deposited in small boxes with corresponding posters near vending machines and kitchen areas at Argonne-East. For more information, call Fran Coose (XFD) at ext. 2-4955 or Sandra Biedron (XFD) at ext. 2-1162. More information on the Ronald McDonald House in Hyde Park is online.

RETIREES

Linda Berry (NPS) retired Aug. 15 with 15 years of service.

John D. Colister (PFS) retired Aug. 15 with 27 years of service.

Roy Kent Crawford (IPNS) retired Aug. 22 with 28 years of service.

Robert T. Daly (CIS) retired Aug. 29 with 39 years of service.

James H. Klick (ASD) retired Aug. 1 with 12 years of service.