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September
1, 2005
DH 05 RH06
Contact: Russ Hudson,
Media Relations Coordinator
(310) 243-2455/2001
rhudson@csudh.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -
NSF Grant Will Fund Study of Movement of Water Contaminant
Carson,
CA – An
$84,569 grant has been awarded by the National Science Foundation
(NSF) to assess the movement of the contaminant
methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, in groundwater in several
regions in California.
The award went to CSU Dominguez Hills Associate
Professor Brendan McNulty, chair, Earth Sciences, Geology and Geography
Department. McNulty, who has worked on structural geology projects
on three continents and has been published repeatedly, will work
with Weixing Tong, an associate engineering geologist and acting
unit chief for the Los Angeles Coastal Unit of the State Regional
Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region.
MTBE is a harmful contaminant and one of its metabolites, formaldehyde,
is considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a probable
human carcinogen. There are no known naturally occurring sources
of MTBE, according to the statement submitted to the NSF in the
grant application’s project description. MTBE is an additive
in gasoline that started in 1979 then was ordered phased out of
use by Gov. Gray Davis in 1999. McNulty said data indicates that
the MTBE entered the groundwater primarily from leakage in storage
tanks.
The project the two-year grant has funded will be used by McNulty,
Tong and a number of students in the Dominguez Hills Earth Sciences,
Geology and Geography department to utilize the extensive data
available from the Regional Water Quality Control Board and other
sources. The purpose is to determine the rate and area covered
by MTBE migration through geological formations and rock types
in areas in the San Francisco Bay, San Joaquin Valley, Victorville,
Orange County and San Diego. The data collected in the study areas
can be used as models in other regions.
California State University, Dominguez Hills
University Communications & Public Affairs
Welch Hall, B-363
1000 E. Victoria St.
Carson, CA 90747
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