U.S. Water News Online
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn University researchers hope to develop a process for removing a noxious chemical from drinking water in Alabama.
The chemical is percholorate, an ingredient in solid-rocket and missile fuel. It has been found at dangerously high levels in drinking water in Alabama and 21 other states, according to researchers.
Three Auburn engineering faculty members, Don Zhao, Willie Harper and Aliecia McClain, will work on the project with $25,000 in grants from the Alabama Water Resources Research Institute.
Percholorate poses serious thyroid-related health risks, especially in newborns, children and pregnant women, and can cause physical and mental retardation, researchers said.
The Auburn engineers hope to come up with a new class of absorbent that will remove percholorate from the water supply and safely destroy it. If successful, the project could attract additional funding from agencies, such as NASA.
Redstone Arsenal and Marshal Space Flight Center in Huntsville are among several sites in Alabama that have manufactured, stored and/or used percholorate for many years, the researchers said.
Other AWRRI grants were awarded to University of Alabama biologists Julie Olson, Perry Churchill and Amelia Ward for Cahaba River projects. Their work could be used to set standards for currently unregulated pollutants discharged into Alabama rivers and streams.
Auburn University geologist Luke Marzen and physics professor J.M. Wersinger also received a grant for drought research.
These projects were selected from among 19 proposals that researchers at universities statewide submitted. An AWRRI review panel evaluated all proposals for their potential for water resource protection.
The grants program is funded through the U.S. Geological Survey.
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