BIOS, PHOTOS, ABSTRACTS – DECEMBER 3, 2009

ARI S. LEWIS – GRADIENT CORP.

BIO:  Ari Lewis is an Environmental Toxicologist and the manager of the Toxicology team at Gradient Corporation, an environmental consulting company (http://www.gradientcorp.com/).  Ari has extensive expertise in toxicology and risk assessment that allows her to manage and contribute to a variety of projects, including site-specific risk assessment, regulatory comment, product safety evaluation, and litigation support. She has particular expertise in the risk assessment of coal combustion products (CCPs) and the trace metals contained in CCPs.  In this capacity, Ari has published and presented extensively on the health risks of CCP constituents, as well as provided direct input to US EPA on CCP regulatory issues.  Ari can be contacted by email at alewis@gradientcorp.com or by phone at (508)-224-2907.

ABSTRACT Evaluating the Safety of CCP Beneficial Use

The beneficial use of coal combustion products (CCPs) not only conserves natural resources and reduces the need for disposal, but CCPs also improve the quality and performance of many final products.  Pending changes in CCP disposal regulation may ultimately lead to greater public awareness and increased safety concerns regarding the beneficial use of CCPs.  This presentation will briefly summarize how risk assessment can be used to evaluate the potential risks associated with CCP beneficial use and provide examples of recent evaluations examining potential mercury risks from CCP use in wallboard, concrete, and structural fill.

 JAMES W. NIEHOFF – GOLDER ASSOCIATES, INC.

BIO: James W. Niehoff is the Geotechnical Practice Leader for Golder Associates Incorporated in Lakewood, Colorado.  He received both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Civil Engineering from Georgia Tech and, during the last 32 years, has served as a geotechnical consultant on over 3000 projects in all 50 states and in 10 foreign countries. He is currently a registered professional engineer in 12 states.  In addition to his work on conventional commercial and industrial foundation design projects, he has gained extensive experience in the characterization of coal combustion by-products and in the design and assessment of disposal facilities for these materials.  He has participated in studies of ash pond management procedures, the design and remediation of ash ponds, and in the conversion of ash ponds to dry stacks.  He has also served as a consultant investigating the failures of power plant and industrial waste disposal facilities throughout the United States. He is the author of over a dozen technical papers and articles and served on the Board of Editors of ASCE’s Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering for 10 years.

ABSTRACT: The Costly Consequences of an Ash Pond Failure

This talk will discuss the failure of a major ash pond in Tennessee in December of 2008, including an assessment of the possible causes, and the extent of the damage to neighboring properties and waterways.  Further information will be presented on the challenges faced in clean-up, transportation and final disposal of the fly ash in a landfill in central Alabama.

MARK ROKOFF - URS

ABSTRACT: "Weathering the Storm Change - Important Changes in CCP Management Certain to Impact the Power Industry" -- Although this is not the first time CCP materials have caught the attention of the US EPA, it is certainly the most likely to lead to a dramatic change to the industry. The presentation will focus initially on the events prior to the failure at TVA's Kingston Plant before summarizing the significant actions by government, organizations, and the US EPA throughout the year. The direction will then shift to explain and address the possible outcomes of the draft rules (based on publically available sources) and their likely implications (i.e. the effects of a hazardous designation, etc.). Before closing, the presentation will suggest actions to be taken by utilities and discuss what can be expected in the near and long term futures for CCP management. However, simply stated, business as usual will no longer be business as usual!

PATRICK GARCIA STRICKLAND – FRONTIER GEOSCIENCES

ABSTRACT: You’ve heard what the press has to say about coal ash.  Now it’s time to see what science is really telling us.  Join Frontier GeoSciences to get the results of an exhaustive two year study on metals leaching and availability in coal ash and CCP’s.

DAVID GOSS – AMERICAN COAL ASH ASSOCIATION (ACAA)

BIO: Dave is the retired Executive Director of the ACAA and works as a consultant to the ACAA.