Professor Appointed to Numerous Environmental Impact Panels

Louis Thibodeaux (B.S., 1962; M.S., 1966; Ph.D., 1968), Jesse Coates Professor of Chemical Engineering, is a world renowned expert in chemodynamics with a record of research in the field of environmental chemodynamics. His textbook, by the same name, was published in 1996 by John Wiley, New York, and has been adopted worldwide by engineering and science departments for use in courses on chemical fate and transport in the natural environment. Because of this exemplary research and distinction, he has garnered various positions on many influential government, university, and private environmental review panels and committees. In the past 12 months, his expertise in the area of chemodynamics has been called upon to serve two post-Katrina environmental impact activities, one committee, and one science advisory board all associated with the U.S. government.

• Consultant to the Environmental Protection Agencey's (EPA) Science Advisory Board (SAB) — On September 13 the EPA SAB formed a special work group including SAB members and consultants. The objective was to review a sampling and chemical analysis plan for sediments/residues in New Orleans. The plan was developed by US EPA Region 6 in Dallas and was focused on sediments in homes and businesses as well as adjacent yards and parking areas. The Region's stated goal is to use sampling data to assess whether it is safe for owners/renters to return to their properties, and to clean up sediments and residual materials left by the floodwaters. Documents were reviewed and written comments submitted prior to the public conference. Minor levels of contaminants were found since the source of the particles was primarily the clean sediments from Lake Pontchatrain.

• Consultant to the EPA SAB — On October 5 another SAB special work group was formed to review the US EPA Region 4 soil and sediment sampling/analysis plan for the Mississippi Gulf Coast impacted by Katrina. At the request of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality the Region 4 investigative branch was to conduct sampling designed to detect releases of hazardous constituents to the environment. The manufacturing facilities investigated were located in the storm surge impacted portions of Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties in Mississippi. A total of eight chemical manufacturing and related facilities were targeted. The objective of the investigation was to provide a first look at these facilities and the surrounding areas with respect to the release and dispersion of hazardous materials and chemicals, particularly to residential settings and sediment. The investigation was not intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of potential releases. The results of the sampling effort are not known at this time.

• Member of the Committee on Sediment Dredging at Superfund Megasites by the Chairman of the Division on Earth & Life Studies of the National Academies — The National Research Council (NRC) Committee will conduct as independent evaluation of dredging projects that will look at the expected effectiveness of dredging contaminated sediments assessing EPA's estimated risk benefits considering sites where information is available and develop recommendations that will facilitate scientifically based and timely decision making for megasites in the future. Thibodeaux's current research efforts have been focused on several aspects of the environmental chemodynamics of bed-sediment contaminants in rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These have included the chemical release process associated with the mud-clouds produced during dredging. Thibodeaux's previous work for the NRC has been to Chair one committee and serve as a member of four others. The current appointment will end January 2007.

• Member on a EPA Science Advisory Board — The EPA Science Advisory Board has selected Thibodeaux to be a member of the review panel for the, so called, Estimation Program Interface (EPI) Suite. It is a set of 13 Windows® based models used to estimate the physical and chemical properties as well as the environmental fate of commercial chemical substances that are or will be released. It is the mission of the USEPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) to evaluate potential risk of these substances. The EPI Suite is being used for implementing the Agency policy on pollution prevention (P2) as well as evaluating new chemicals under EPA's premanufacture notices (PMNs). The EPI Suite is also widely used for predicting physical/chemical properties and environmental fate and transport for chemicals already in commerce.

The Panel will conduct a review of the EPI Suite providing advice regarding the comprehensiveness and soundness of the supporting science including methods of validation, alternative estimation methods, completeness of software, documentation, and preparation of its current applications. The panel consists of 14 members and its work will continue until the review is complete. The process has started and the first meeting was held in March 2006 in Washington, D.C.

In other news, Thibodeaux was the invited Plenary speaker at the Canadian Society Chemical Engineering annual meeting in Toronto, Canada in October 2005.

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