WAIT, WHAT?!

Hiroshima fallout debris linked to first solar system condensates

by Hannah Bird , Phys.org

Diagrammatic explanation of the evolution of the fireball in the 5 seconds after Hiroshima

 nuclear bomb detonation. Credit: Asset et al, 2024

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, by the United States in August 1945 was not only devastating at the time, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, but it has had long-standing impacts to the present day, particularly the elevated incidence of cancer from radiation.

Continued research of Hiroshima Bay has uncovered a new kind of debris from the fallout, known as Hiroshima glasses. These formed from vaporized materials of the bomb and the surrounding landscape and infrastructure being targeted.

New research published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters has analyzed the chemical and isotopic compositions of these glasses to ascertain their formation process during the nuclear event.

Nathan Asset, of Université Paris Cité, France, and colleagues determined that rapid condensation (1.5–5.5 seconds) within the nuclear fireball (temperature 3,200–1,000 Kelvin) was the primary process. This is akin to the process by which the first solids (condensates) in the solar system, calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) of primitive meteorites (chondrites), would have formed from the vaporization of interstellar dust and nebula gas.

To investigate this further, the research team identified four types of glasses within the 94 specimens of fallout debris: melilitic (low silica, high calcium oxide and rich in magnesium oxide), anorthositic (high aluminum oxide contents and iron-bearing), soda–lime (rich in silica and sodium oxide) and silica (~99% silica). The origin of the silica glass could not be separated from sand grains on the beach, but the soda–lime glasses are similar to compositions of industrial origin.

Examples of Hiroshima glasses under optical (C, E, F) and scanning electron microscope 

(A, B, D). Credit: Asset et al, 2024

Reconstructing the formation of these glasses, the researchers state the plasma fireball exploded 580 m above the city with a radius of 260 m, a peak temperature of 107 K and a pressure of 106 atmospheres. A thermal wave touched the ground at temperatures of 6,287°C.

Within a mere 0.35 seconds, the pressure dropped to match that of the surrounding atmosphere and within 10 seconds the temperature decreased to 1,500–2,000 K and vaporization ceased. In the immediate 0.5–2 seconds after the explosion, city materials (concrete, iron and aluminum alloys, industrial glass and soil) were vaporized and mixed with sand, Ota River water and the atmosphere to produce the various glasses.

There is some difficulty in estimating the actual quantities of each component that was vaporized, as not all buildings were destroyed; for example, some built to withstand earthquakes did survive the blast and therefore some concrete, iron and bricks were not vaporized.

Additionally, different materials require different amounts of energy to vaporize and therefore form condensation nuclei at different stages of the glass-forming process (e.g., river water inclusion would be sustained for longer as it requires less energy than concrete).

The isotopic composition of silica within the Hiroshima glasses was -23.0 ± 1.8 ‰ to -1.5 ± 1.1 ‰, while that of oxygen via mass-independent fractionation was -3.1 ± 0.6 ‰, all of which fall within the realms of the composition of CAIs. The research team used the results of the fractionation to determine melilitic glasses were the first to form, then anorthositic, followed by soda–lime and finally almost pure silica.

While the composition of the environment of Hiroshima glass formation differs from that of CAIs (temperature 3,500 K for Hiroshima and 2,000 K for the solar accretion disk, 1 bar pressure for Hiroshima and 10-3–10-6 bar for solar disk, oxygen-rich environment for Hiroshima and hydrogen-rich for solar disk) and the time over which the events occurred (<20 minutes for Hiroshima versus many years for the solar disk), understanding the processes occurring during the gas-solid transition helps us uncover more about the origins of our solar system and all that has developed since.

More information: Nathan Asset et al, Condensation of fallout glasses in the Hiroshima nuclear fireball resulting in oxygen mass-independent fractionation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118473

Journal information: Earth and Planetary Science Letters 

© 2024 Science X NetworkCrystalline silica in meteorite brings scientists closer to understanding solar evolution

Shifting sands
Impact concerns remain as silica plan pivots from fracking to solar power

By: Ben Waldman
Posted: 2:00 AM CST Monday, Dec. 13, 2021
Last Modified: 11:59 AM CST Monday, Dec. 13, 2021 | Updates



Alberta’s Canadian Premium Sands Inc. announced plans last week to pivot to solar glass production and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

A Canadian company previously engaged in hydraulic fracturing is pivoting to solar glass production, and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

Alberta’s Canadian Premium Sands Inc., and the City of Selkirk announced the plans last week.

The move toward solar panel glass production is considered by the city to align with its sustainability mandate, and will create an estimated 300 jobs, while the company said the move toward solar panel development made strong business sense. Selkirk director of sustainable economic development Tim Feduniw called it "potentially the largest single industrial investment in the last 100 years in Selkirk."

When Canadian Premium Sands first received approved quarry leases in Seymourville, located about 160 kilometres north of Selkirk on the territory of Hollow Water First Nation, the company intended to use the silica sand deposits in fracking — a process in which silica sand particles are injected into the earth to extract resources.

Although the First Nation’s government agreed to the leases with CPS, which had its licence issued and approved by the province in May 2019, there has been opposition from some community members concerned over impacts on nearby bodies of water, air and land, as well as a lack of community consultation by their government or a community-involved environmental review beforehand.

"The silica sand of this unique landscape is central to Ojibwa spirituality," Hollow Water’s Marcel Hardisty wrote in a 2019 op-ed for the Free Press. "It is like the stars in the Milky Way. We come from the stars, and we return to them — that is our belief. As a way of honouring that link, sand was used in burial rituals, placed on the ground around the deceased to guide them home to their place among the stars with their ancestors."

Alberta’s Canadian Premium Sands Inc. announced plans last week to pivot to solar glass production and has chosen Selkirk as the base of its manufacturing operations.

Now, instead of fracking, the publicly traded company intends to use that silica sand to manufacture panelled glass for the solar power industry.

CEO Glenn Leroux says the move makes good business sense. "When the oil and gas sector cratered, and then COVID hit, our original business plan wasn’t viable anymore." So the company reconsidered potential uses for the low-iron silica, which is a base component of glass for solar panelling. Market research showed there were no North American solar glass manufacturers, Leroux said; all such product was sourced from China and other countries in the Pacific rim.

"This is a dramatic pivot for us, but every potential customer we’ve spoken to has growth plans," he said. "Solar is going to be a huge component of (future policy and carbon reduction targets). It’s rapidly growing, and let’s face it, it’s where the world is going, so it’s the right thing to do."

Even with the change in plans, some are skeptical and remain concerned over potential environmental impacts of the proposed operation.

Mary-Jane McCarron, who lived on Hollow Water for years and whose two sons are members, says while fracking is much more detrimental, there are still fears over the potential impact on the water, air, and land surrounding the quarry in Seymourville through extraction for glassmaking. As well, there are concerns the operation will go through the local trap line.

"This looks like a panicky effort to come up with something that looks environmentally responsible in order to get the money out," said McCarron, who is involved in Camp Morning Star, a demonstration set up after CPS was first issued licences in Hollow Water.

Don Sullivan, a research associate for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, wrote in an online article for the CCPA last week that the revamped plan "contains a good deal of greenwashing."
Jim Mone / The Associated Press Files

Low-iron silica is a base component of glass used for solar panels.

Leroux disputed that statement, and said the change in direction was not a strategic way of "greening up," but that it made economic sense as solar power installation is anticipated to increase significantly in the next decade. Profit-wise, it was a better option, he said; environmentally, too.

On the environmental front, he said one-tenth as much silica will need to be extracted and processed for patterned-glass making annually as would have been extracted for fracking purposes. He also emphasized the products being made would promote a reduced reliance on carbon and promote renewable energy development. And, they wouldn’t be coming from thousands of kilometres away.

"This is green, but we didn’t set out to see how we can ‘green’ this company," he said. "The business opportunity for solar glass was a way better opportunity."

He also said that quarry leases are granted by the provincial government’s mines branch. "CPS has participation agreements with financial benefit elements in place with both Hollow Water and Seymourville, the details of which are confidential," he wrote in an email.

Leroux said the company will need to receive a notice of approval for an alteration of its environmental licences, along with approval of business permits. Plus, the company will have to raise "hundreds of millions" of dollars in funding. Should they be successful in those regards, he anticipates development of the manufacturing facility could begin by the end of 2022.

For the city of Selkirk, that manufacturing facility would create approximately 300 jobs, according to a release from the company, and could potentially spur other developments in the solar energy sector.

A city spokesperson reiterated Selkirk’s role is as host, not as partner, in the proposed project. "We recognize that there were concerns about a proposed past project that did not go forward," an email read. "What has been presented to us is a very different project with very different environmental outcomes. It is solely about the manufacturing of solar glass."

"CPS in our dealings have demonstrated their belief and commitment to environmental licensing processes as well as respecting and working with (I)ndigenous communities and their associated land rights," the email continued. "It is our view that this project represents a positive transition in the energy sector as it looks to divert resources to greener energy products for the benefit of all."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

Ben Waldman
Reporter
Ben Waldman covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.

Rural Manitoba councillors push for independent referendum on controversial silica mine project

Dave Baxter, 

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, 

Winnipeg Sun
Tue, August 15, 2023 

Two rural Manitoba councillors are moving forward with an independent referendum they say will analyze how many residents are in favour or opposed to a proposed silica mine that has been at the centre of a heated controversy in the RM of Springfield, while the mayor and the RM say they do not support, and will have nothing to do with that referendum.

Plans have been in the works for about four years for Calgary-based Sio Silica to build a silica mine and processing plant near the community of Vivian in the RM of Springfield, east of Winnipeg. The project calls for up to 7,700 wells over 24 years to extract ultra-pure silica sand, which can be used in the production of solar panels, batteries, and semiconductors.

But those plans have been met with fierce resistance from some who live in the RM, due to concerns the project posed a serious threat to the quality of groundwater in the area.

Springfield’s previous council voted against construction of the facility, but that decision was overruled by the provincial Municipal Board, which told Springfield they must amend their bylaws to move the project forward.

A June 13 council meeting, when councillors were supposed to vote on zoning and bylaw changes for the project, was adjourned early after several citizens confronted Springfield councillors, leaving Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien to say he was concerned for the safety of some on council. RCMP were also called to the meeting but there were no arrests.

A final decision now lies with the province and is dependent on a Clean Environment Commission (CEC) Report the province received in June, and Environment and Climate Minister Kevin Klein promised the province would take its time to study the report before making its decision.

But Springfield councillors Mark Miller and Andy Kuczynski, who have both been vocal critics of the project, say that while they wait for the province’s decision, they will hold the referendum which allows people to vote by phone.

Miller also claimed the “technology” being used will not allow people to vote multiple times from the same phone number, so they hope to get “as accurate a picture as possible” of how residents feel about the mine.

Miller said he and Kuczynski asked during a recent council meeting that the RM hold an official referendum on the mine, but said they did not get the majority of council’s support, so they decided to move forward with one independently.

“We know that this referendum is not binding, but at the same time it will give residents an opportunity to have their voices heard, and let the province as well as candidates in the upcoming election know if they support this,” Miller said.

But Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien said he and some other council members continue to be frustrated with the two councillors for efforts to oppose the project at the municipal level, when ultimately the final decision will come down to the province.

“These types of things just do not do us any good, because while we are waiting for a decision we have many other things as a council and as an RM that we need to be working on, and we can’t let this take up all our focus, because then nothing else gets done and more and more that is what’s happening,” Therrien said.

He said he also questions how accurate the results of the referendum will be, because it will not be run through official RM channels, and will allow people to vote who aren’t residents or property owners in the community.

“These types of things can be skewed in a number of ways, so I just don’t know how accurate it will be, or even know what they are going to do with this information once they have it,” he said.

The RM also released an official statement last week saying they oppose the referendum.

“The subject of a referendum and/or survey was discussed with council previously and although a vote was not held, the majority of council did not feel that the idea should be pursued,” the statement reads.

“The protection of groundwater is a priority for all council, however the decision of whether the proposed Vivian Sand Project proceeds is in the hands of the Provincial Government. Council trusts that the comments and concerns brought forward at CEC hearings will be seriously considered before the provincial government makes any final decision.”

Residents can now call to vote either in favour of or opposition to the project at 204-515-1252 from Aug. 13 to Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

• The Manitoba government is poised to approve two silica sand mines, one near Vivian in Southeastern Manitoba proposed by CanWhite Sands (CWS), the other on a community-designated trapline adjacent to the Hollow Water First Nations reserve boundary, on the eastern shores of Lake Winnipeg, proposed by Canadian Premium Sand (CPS).

policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/fast-facts-manitobas-silica-sand-use-fracking-natural-gas

Fast Facts: Manitoba's Silica Sand: Use for Fracking Natural 

Researchers create a new 3D extra-large pore zeolite that opens a new path to the decontamination of water and gas

A team of scientists with the participation of the CSIC develops an extra-large pore silica zeolite from a silicate chain

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SPANISH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (CSIC)

 

IMAGE: IMAGE OF THE STRUCTURE OF ZEO-3, A NEW EXTRA-LARGE PORE SILICA ZEOLITE. / ICMM-CSIC view more 

CREDIT: ICMM-CSIC

An international team of researchers with the participation of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has created the most porous stable zeolite known to date, a new pure silica zeolite called ZEO-3. This zeolite was formed by an unprecedented topotactic condensation of a 1D silicate chain to a 3D zeolite. The process is topotactic because the structure of the chain is not altered. It can be applied to remove and recover volatile organic compounds from a gas stream that may even contain water. The discovery, to which scientists from the Institute of Materials Sciences of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) and the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragon (INMA-CSIC-UNIZAR) have contributed, is published in the journal Science.

Zeolites are microporous silicates that find an ample variety of applications as catalysts, adsorbents, and cation exchangers. Stable silica-based zeolites with increased porosity are in demand to allow adsorption and processing of large molecules, "but challenge our synthetic ability", explains Miguel Camblor, researcher at ICMM and one of the correspondening authors of the research.

As the zeolites pores have are the size of small molecules, there is a limitation on the size of molecules you can process. That is why Zeolites with larger pores "have always been sought" and, specially, those with inpores along 3 dimensions: "because when you have a pore in only one direction, even if it is large, it is easy for it to be blocked, but if you have them in all dimensions, it's difficult,” Camblor points out.

After more than 80 years of extensive international research in this field, this team has created the most porous stable zeolite known so far. "Until now, the zeolites with extra-large pores were not stable, as they were made by germanium instead of siliconm", he says. Previous stable zeolites could reach up to 7 angstroms (1 angstrom is a hundred-millionth of a centimetre).

Last year, this team of researchers published another article in Science about a new zeolite with aluminum and large pores (ZEO-1). Now, the new zeolite has a composition of pure silica. “In both zeolites, ZEO-1 and ZEO-3, there are pores that reach more than 10 angstroms,” says Camblor.

The peculiarities of ZEO-3

This new zeolite has two peculiarities: extra-large pores in all three dimensions and it is formed though the synthesisby calcination of a one-dimensional chain silicate in a topotactic condensation (what means it was made without changes in this chain).

"This had never been seen before," congratules Camblor. "Two-dimensional to three-dimensional topotactic condensations were known, that is, a thing that was lamellar and that by a similar mechanism condensed to give a zeolite, but not from one-dimensional to three-dimensional," he adds.

After the creation of this zeolite the team, with researchers also from Sweden, China and USA, started to experiment its properties: "Since this is a material that is pure silica, it does not have a catalytic capacity, but it has a capacity to absorb very large things. Big organic stuff," says Camblor.

"This zeolite can be applied to remove and recover volatile organic compounds from a gas stream that may even contain water", he explains. "In a site where harmful volatile organic materials are being produced, you can decontaminate and not just remove it but recover itthe contaminant", Camblor ilustrates. With further research this zeolite could be also useful at catalysis and in drug delivery.

Miguel Camblor, ICMM-CSIC researcher, and a representation of the structure of ZEO-3. / ICMM-CSIC

CREDIT

ICMM-CSIC

---

JOURNAL

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ade1771 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

A 3D Extra-Large Pore Zeolite Enabled by 1D-to-3D Topotactic Condensation of a Chain Silicate

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

19-Jan-2023

 

Discovery of structural regularity hidden in silica glass

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TOHOKU UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

DISCOVERY OF STRUCTURAL REGULARITY HIDDEN IN SILICA GLASS. 

view more 

CREDIT: MOTOKI SHIGA

Glass - whether used to insulate our homes or as the screens in our computers and smartphones - is a fundamental material. Yet, despite its long usage throughout human history, the disordered structure of its atomic configuration still baffles scientists, making understanding and controlling its structural nature challenging. It also makes it difficult to design efficient functional materials made from glass.

To uncover more about the structural regularity hidden in glassy materials, a research group has focused on ring shapes in the chemically bonded networks of glass. The group, which included Professor Motoki Shiga from Tohoku University's Unprecedented-scale Data Analytics Center, created new ways in which to quantify the rings' three-dimensional structure and structural symmetries: "roundness" and "roughness."

Using these indicators enabled the group to determine the exact number of representative ring shapes in crystalline and glassy silica (SiO2), finding a mixture of rings unique to glass and ones that resembled the rings in the crystals.

Additionally, the researchers developed a technique to measure the spatial atomic densities around rings by determining the direction of each ring.

They revealed that there is anisotropy around the ring, i.e., that the regulation of the atomic configuration is not uniform in all directions, and that the structural ordering related to the ring-originated anisotropy is consistent with experimental evidence, like the diffraction data of SiO2. It was also revealed that there were specific areas where the atomic arrangement followed some degree of order or regularity, even though it appeared to be a discorded and chaotic arrangement of atoms in glassy silica.

"The structural unit and structural order beyond the chemical bond had long been assumed through experimental observations but its identification has eluded scientists until now," says Shiga. "Furthermore, our successful analysis contributes to understanding phase-transitions, such as vitrification and crystallization of materials, and provides the mathematical descriptions necessary for controlling material structures and material properties."

Looking ahead, Shiga and his colleagues will use these techniques to come up with procedures for exploring glass materials, procedures that are based on data-driven approaches like machine learning and AI.

Their findings were published open access in the journal Communication Materials on November 3, 2023.

Ring shape indicators: (a) Computation procedure, (b) Examples of indicators on Silica (SiO2), (c) Distribution of shape indicators in silica glass and nine crystals.

Spatial atomic densities around rings in silica crystal (left) and glass (right). Blue and red regions show large density regions of silicon and oxygen atoms, respectively.

CREDIT

Motoki Shiga et al.

JOURNAL

Communications Materials

DOI

10.1038/s43246-023-00416-w 

ARTICLE TITLE

Ring-originated anisotropy of local structural ordering in amorphous and crystalline silicon dioxide\

FRACKING SAND

No timeline for silica project after Manitoba received environmental report


Local Journalism Initiative
Fri, June 23, 2023

Manitoba’s environment minister confirmed Friday the province has received a report that will help them determine whether or not a controversial silica sand mine project should be built in a rural Manitoba community, and the minister is now vowing that he and the province won’t be making any final decisions until the contents of the report are thoroughly reviewed and understood.

Plans have been in the works for about four years for Calgary-based Sio Silica to build a silica mine and processing plant near the community of Vivian in the RM of Springfield, east of Winnipeg.

The project calls for up to 7,700 wells over 24 years to extract ultra-pure silica sand, which can be used in the production of solar panels, batteries, and semiconductors.

But those plans have been met with fierce resistance from some who live in and around Vivian, as some believe the project and the mining methods used pose a serious threat to the quality of groundwater in the area.

A June 13 council meeting in Springfield, where councillors were supposed to vote on zoning and bylaw changes for the project, was adjourned early, after several citizens confronted Springfield councillors, leaving Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien to say he was concerned for the safety of some on council. RCMP were also called to the meeting, but there were no arrests or charges laid.

And despite some on Springfield’s current as well as its previous council stating that they are opposed to the project including current councillors Mark Miller and Andy Kuczynski, the final decision will now come down to the province.

Springfield’s previous council voted against construction of the facility, but that decision was overruled by the provincial Municipal Board, which told Springfield they must amend their bylaws.

A final decision is now dependent on the Clean Environment Commission Report the province received Friday. Environment and Climate Minister Kevin Klein promised the province would take its time to study the report and said they would not allow any projects that could affect groundwater in Manitoba communities.

“As a government, we take the CEC reports and recommendations very seriously,” Klein said on Friday. “The protection of the environment and ensuring safe drinking water is paramount as we now undertake further technical review.

“Our government must now take the time to thoroughly review the report and ensure due diligence in the many next steps.”

Klein said that the province is now also making the report available to the public on the Manitoba Government’s website, as he said he wants any and all concerned residents to have an opportunity to read the report for themselves.

“The community and the public are interested in this, and they want to know what the CEC said, and that’s why this report is being delivered today,” Klein said. “We are accountable to Manitobans.”

Klein refused to give any timeline of when the final decision could come down.

“The process is the process, and the process will take as long as it needs to take,” he said. “Time is not the issue, process is the issue.”

In a statement sent to the Winnipeg Sun on Friday, Sio Silica said they appreciate the work that went into creating the CEC report, and hope that the project will ultimately gain approval.

“Sio Silica recognizes the amount of time, investment and data analyzation by all those involved in the Clean Environment Commission review of the Vivian Sand Extraction Project,” the statement reads.

“Sio thanks the Commission for its time and commitment to the process, and is pleased to move forward with our project as it progresses to the next steps.”

The Winnipeg Sun also reached out to Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien, and councillors Mark Miller and Andy Kuczynski for comment, but received no response before Friday’s press deadline.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun

Mysterious climate behavior during Earth's most severe mass extinction event explained

by University of Waikato

Mineralogical data across the extinction event. Mineralogical data from (A) Ubara and (B)

 Akkamori. Quartz (qtz); pyrite (pyr); berthierine (bth); Fe-illite; and frw_s. 

Credit: Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31128-3

The end-Permian mass extinction is the most severe mass extinction event ever recorded, during which ~80% of marine species went extinct

While the beginning of this extinction event was driven by an extreme and rapid warming event, recovery of both global climate and ecosystems was extremely sluggish. Temperatures remained lethally hot and ecosystems remained depleted for over 5 million years.

Based on our current understanding of how the carbon cycle and climate operates, temperatures ought to have recovered much more quickly.

This delayed recovery stands out from all other known mass extinction events, and has baffled scientists for many years without any real explanation.

A recently released paper published by Nature Communications, "Marine siliceous ecosystem decline led to sustained anomalous Early Triassic warmth," by University of Waikato researchers Terry Isson and Sofia Rauzi from the Earth-Life Interactions (ELI) research group, suggests that the decline of silica secreting marine organisms across this event both exacerbated climate change and was responsible for the 5 million year delay in global temperature recovery.

This provides for the first time, an comprehensive explanation for why it took so long for temperatures to recover to what they were before the mass extinction event.

Clay minerals form in the oceans and in the process release CO2. Clays minerals are fundamentally made up of silica and so cannot form without it. Silica secreting organisms compete for this silica, meaning that a healthy siliceous ecosystem that uses large amounts of silica will act to lower the amount of CO2 released from clay mineral formation.

It is well established that there was widespread loss of silica secreting organisms in the oceans during the end-Permian mass extinction event, and that these organisms did not recover for 5 million years. This research demonstrates, using a carbon cycle model and also mineralogical analysis, that this would have led to increased CO2 release into the atmosphere during this time, keeping temperatures on Earth high for a prolonged period of time.

This research provides the first ever direct evidence that silica secreting organisms play a very prominent role in regulating climate on Earth that has previously never been recognized.Rethinking planetary climate controls

---

More information: Terry T. Isson et al, Marine siliceous ecosystem decline led to sustained anomalous Early Triassic warmth, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31128-3

Journal information: Nature Communications 

Provided by University of Waikato 

US Coal miners plead with feds for stronger enforcement during emotional hearing on black lung rule

Thu, August 10, 2023



BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) — Laboring to breathe, West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly told federal regulators Thursday he is appreciative the U.S. government is finally considering a proposal to limit the poisonous rock dust causing a severe resurgence of black lung.

But Lilly said the rule — a half-century in the making — will mean nothing if there aren’t strict enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure companies comply.

“Cheating the samples is what we need to stop. If we can stop this, we can save some lives,” said Lilly, asking officials to excuse him as a took a pause to catch his breath. He’s now limited to 40% lung capacity, he said.

Lilly was one of the dozens of miners and advocates who came to the historic coal-mining county in West Virginia's southern coalfields to discuss a proposed rule from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration that would cut the current limit for silica dust exposure in half.

During an emotional, hours-long hearing — the second of three before public comment on the proposal ends next month — miners spoke about their fear of retaliation for speaking up about unsafe dust levels and being asked by companies to help falsify samples. They said the government needs more inspectors to spend more time in the mines making sure existing rules are followed. Otherwise, new regulation won't make a meaningful difference, they said.

“When I speak about this, people look at me like I’m stupid,” Lilly, who said miners don't always feel like the federal government takes their concerns seriously. “I’ve got 30 years of experience. I know the tricks and how they operate.”

President of the National Black Lung Association Gary Hairston, who lives in neighboring Fayette County, said that too often, miners have to choose between their safety and their livelihood.

“We can fix this when we start making the coal mining companies responsible for what they’re doing,” said Hairston, becoming emotional speaking into the microphone wearing a “black lung kills” T-shirt. “I wish the coal miner – us – that we would come forward – but we’re scared. In a non-union mine, you ain’t got representation. We know they’ll get rid of us."

Silicosis, commonly referred to as black lung, is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust present in minerals like sandstone. The problem has only grown in recent years as miners dig through more layers of rock to get to less accessible coal, generating deadly silica dust in the process. Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.

An estimated one in five tenured miners in Central Appalachia has black lung disease; one in 20 has the most disabling form of black lung.

The proposed federal rule, published in the Federal Register last month, cuts the permissible exposure limit for silica dust from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour shift in coal, metal and nonmetal mines such as sand and gravel.

The proposal is in line with exposure levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on construction and other non-mining industries. And it’s the standard The Centers for Disease Control was recommending as far back as 1974.

Old wounds over mine safety run deep in West Virginia’s southern coalfields, where thousands of miners 100 years ago marched to unionize in the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed uprising in the United States since the Civil War.

In the 1940s and 1950s, roughly half of West Virginia workers were employed in heavy industries like coal, steel and glass, and the majority of those workers belonged to a union. By 2022, however, only 10% of West Virginia workers were represented by unions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hairston said that with the waning of union representation, miners have lost advocates they could rely on ensure regulations are being enforced.

Attorney Sam Petsonk, who has represented coal miners who were diagnosed with black lung after companies violated safety violations, said a silica rule is long overdue. But he is concerned that the rule requires no routine sampling and contains no specific monetary penalties for exceeding silica dust limits.

The rule also allows miners to work in higher-than-allowable levels of dust on a temporary basis if they wear respirators and companies are working on bringing exposure down to safer levels. Petsonk said respirators are ineffective while performing heavy labor in hot, confined spaces, and that inspectors are not present enough to ensure they don't become a permanent solution.

The National Mining Association has said it would like to see respiratory protection equipment be used as a method of compliance with the rule.

The organization, which represents operators, said in a statement last month that ventilation controls, strict adherence to mine ventilation control plans, increased operator and miner safety awareness, and a 2014 rule regulating coal dust have "all contributed to exponentially lower dust levels inside the mine.”

Mine, Safety and Health Administration Deputy Secretary Patricia Silvey said if inspectors see evidence of overexposure, operators will have to take immediate “corrective action,” which could mean implementing engineering controls. The government makes a record of the infraction and ensures retesting to make sure the action is working, she said.

Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for advocacy group Appalachian Voices, said the nation has a current epidemic of black lung now that is "built in part on the current enforcement mechanisms and deficiencies.”

“If MSHA gets this wrong, we will look back on this process as its own sort of tragedy — a moment when we came close to doing right by coal miners, but ultimately failed them,” he said.

United Mine Workers of America Director of Occupational Health and Safety Josh Roberts asked regulators to look at the proposed rule and ask this: “Does this section open the door for cheating or gaming the system?”

“Everybody wants the rule to be the best that it can be this go-round because you might not get another bite at the apple for a long time," he said.

Leah Willingham, The Associated Press

What is health-monitoring cat litter, and how does it help detect when your cat is sick?

Chemistry gives the classic adsorbent material a colorimetric twist and could provide information about your pet’s health

by Brianna Barbu
June 28, 2022 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 100, Issue 24

Credit: C&EN/Brianna Barbu

If you have a cat, as approximately 25% of US households do according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the internet may have shown you targeted ads for a health-monitoring cat litter. These products promise to change color in response to certain disease markers in a cat’s urine, to help owners spot early signs of illness before more serious symptoms arise.

“A goal with any disease is to pick up disease early, not late,” says Jody Lulich, who specializes in small-animal internal medicine at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. The earlier a disease can be caught, the better the outcome is likely to be.

Cats are relatively prone to urinary issues, especially as they get older or if they’re overweight, according to the Cornell Feline Health Center website. Naturally, given litter’s role absorbing pee, health-monitoring cat litters focus on detecting potential problems in a cat’s urinary tract: the kidneys, bladder, and the plumbing that connects them. But how do these litters do that? C&EN decided to try to get the scoop on it.

AN ABSORBING TOPIC

Unlike some other consumer products for monitoring a cat’s urinary health at home, such as urine-testing dipsticks, health-monitoring litters also need to work as an everyday cat litter. That means their main function is to absorb moisture and odors from your cat’s excretory activities, hopefully without kicking up too much dust.

Most cat litters—about 92%—are made from clay, 

CLAY DUST IS DANGEROUS FOR YOUR CAT'S LUNGS

according to Mariangela Imbrenda of the Clorox Company, the parent company of the Fresh Step litter brand. But indicator litters are made of silica, which is about 2% of the overall litter market. 

THESE ARE THE BEST TO AVOID LUNG PROBLEMS

The other 6% covers the myriad organic litter materials, including corn, pine, paper, and even tofu.

Silica litter, often marketed as “crystal” litter, is made from amorphous silica gel, the same material that is often found in packets inside shoe boxes and bags of jerky to keep those products dry. Silica gel’s silicon-and-oxygen framework contains a multitude of tiny pores that adsorb small molecules that can form hydrogen bonds. For cat litter, those molecules are water and the ammonium ions that are produced when microbes break down urea in urine. Ammonium causes the acrid smell of a soiled litter box.

Silica litter doesn’t clump the way most clay litters do, and it’s more expensive, but it tends to be lighter, less dusty than clay, and more efficient at trapping moisture and odor-causing molecules: it can adsorb about 35% of its weight in water without swelling. Pure silica gel is also naturally white, which can help colors show up if dyes are added during the manufacturing process—for example, color-changing indicators to analyze a cat’s pee.

TRUE COLORS

Health-monitoring cat litters show pH changes and blood in the urine to try to alert owners to early signs of urinary tract issues.
Source: PrettyLitter.

COLORIMETRIC BASICS

A response to a chemical interaction is a key component of any chemical test, according to Jessica Beard, a chemistry PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who is developing colorimetric tests for detecting water pollutants. In a colorimetric test, the response is a color change.

Colorimetric indicators are useful for tests where you don’t want to use sophisticated instrumentation, because they can be made so that the results are visible to the human eye, Beard says. And commercial indicators often rely on chemistries that have been known for a long time, which is a big plus, she adds. “If they could get it to work in the early 1900s, it’s probably tolerant of a lot of interference.”

Using colorimetric tests for a quick urine analysis is nothing new, veterinary expert Lulich says. Vets first test a pet’s urine using a dipstick test strip with colorimetric indicators before following up with more specific tests if necessary. These test strips may include tests for pH and the presence of certain disease markers such as protein, blood, or glucose.



The main feature that health-monitoring cat litters advertise is the ability to detect changes in pH using color. That’s exactly what C&EN saw when we got our paws on a bag of PrettyLitter indicator litter and tested its pH-indicating power. According to the company’s patent, PrettyLitter contains the indicator compound bromothymol blue. This compound is yellow in its protonated form (below pH 6) and blue in its deprotonated form (above pH 7.6). Solutions with a mix of protonated and deprotonated molecules appear as different shades of green.

In C&EN’s at-home tests, filtered water (approximately neutral pH) turned the litter a yellowish green, vinegar water (pH of around 3) created an orangey-yellow color, and baking soda in water (pH of about 8) turned the litter bright blue. The orange and yellow colors faded after a few hours, which Beard hypothesizes might be because of a proton transfer between the silica and the indicator. The blue did not fade.

As long as the body can get rid of it, then it’s not abnormal.
Jody Lulich, veterinarian, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine


INDICATING A PROBLEM?

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, the normal pH of cat urine is 6.3–6.6. It also says that urine pH can affect the formation of bladder stones, and some bacterial infections can result in alkaline urine. But according to Lulich, a cat’s urinary tract can handle quite a bit of variation in pH. “If the animal takes in a lot of alkali, the body is going to get rid of it,” he says. The same goes for consuming or making a lot of acid. “As long as the body can get rid of it, then it’s not abnormal.”

PrettyLitter Inc. did not respond to questions about the litter’s contents by C&EN’s deadline, but assuming the indicator is indeed bromothymol blue, PrettyLitter is probably alerting cat owners to urine below pH 6 and above pH 7.6. If the pH is outside that range, it could mean a cat is sick, but pH can also change for perfectly harmless reasons, Lulich says, because “pH is not very useful by itself.” Instead, vets will consider pH values in the context of other symptoms as well as risk factors such as a cat’s age, diet, and medical history.

Many health-monitoring litters are also supposed to detect blood in the urine. That could be a much more valuable test. Lulich says that blood in the urine can be a sign of a number of serious conditions. Almost any amount that’s detectable is concerning enough to follow up on, he says.

In the clinic, medical-grade urine test strips use diisopropylbenzene dihydroperoxide and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine to detect blood. Blood contains hemoglobin, which contains iron(II). If any hemoglobin is present in the urine tested, the iron(II) will react with the peroxide molecules to form radicals. The radicals then oxidize the tetramethylbenzidine, triggering a color change from yellow to blue green.

But according to three brands, blood-detecting litter will turn red, not blue, if a cat’s pee has blood in it. With the help of American University chemist Matthew Hartings, C&EN tested PrettyLitter with a few different concentrations of hemoglobin in water (Hartings is a member of C&EN’s advisory board). C&EN found that the color of the litter reflected the color of the hemoglobin solution. So the blood detection, at least for PrettyLitter, seems to rely not on a chemical test but on the contrast of bloody urine’s reddish color against a white backdrop.

Although Lulich cautions against reading too much into single data points, he says he considers at-home pet health monitoring to be a generally positive thing because it can help foster communication between pet owners and vets, and that may lead to better health outcomes. “It doesn’t hurt anything but your pocketbook,” he says. “Anytime you can pick up disease early and not go overboard with tests that may hurt, then the answer is it should be good.”

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2022 American Chemical Society

Burning sugarcane possible cause of mystery kidney disease in agricultural workers

CU Anschutz researchers worked with doctors in El Salvador to identify high levels of silica nanoparticles in kidney tissue of patients with mysterious disease

QUIT BURNING USE IT AS BIOFUEL

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ANSCHUTZ MEDICAL CAMPUS

AURORA, Colorado (October 23, 2023) - The burning of sugarcane and rice husks may be releasing a toxicant causing a mysterious kidney disease in agricultural workers, according to a paper out today in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

An ongoing epidemic of chronic kidney disease has been observed among manual laborers in hot agricultural communities throughout the world, including along the Pacific coast of Central America, India and Sri Lanka. While heat stress and climate change have contributed to this epidemic, researchers have identified tiny silica particles released from sugarcane ash that can be inhaled or ingested through contaminated drinking water that cause chronic kidney damage.

“To date, there are no studies we are aware of that have identified a toxicant that can cause chronic kidney disease which is actually present in kidney tissues of patients suffering from this unknown disease,” says Jared Brown, PhD, professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and one of the senior authors. “These data provide an important clue to the mystery and suggests that in addition to heat stress from climate change that toxicants from sugarcane ash could be contributing to the disease.”  

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus worked with doctors at Hospital Rosales in San Salvador, El Salvador to evaluate patients suffering from this mysterious chronic kidney disease. The authors found significantly more silica particles in the kidney tissue of patients with this particular disease compared to patients with other known kidney diseases. The study suggests the disease could result from exposure to sugarcane ash, which contains amorphous silica nanoparticles. This process may also be linked to people who work in rice paddies, as the burning of the rice paddies, which is also commonly done, can also lead to the release of silica-containing ash.

“While this data is preliminary, we can determine that the burning of sugarcane may not only be contributing to climate change, but it may have a role in the epidemic that has been affecting agricultural workers,” says Richard Johnson, MD, CU Anschutz School of Medicine professor and one of the senior authors. “This disease is identified as one of the first newly recognized diseases resulting specifically from a warming climate. Now we know toxicants are also involved. Hopefully this work will spur efforts to focus on sugarcane burning as a potential risk factor for the development of this mysterious kidney disease in workers and people who live adjacent to sugarcane fields.”

About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado - that treat more than two million adult and pediatric patients each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by over $690 million in research grants. For more information, visit www.cuanschutz.edu.

 

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JOURNAL

American Journal of Kidney Diseases

DOI

10.1053/j.ajkd.2023.06.010 

ARTICLE TITLE

Silica Nanoparticles and Mesoamerican Nephropathy: A Case Series

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

23-Oct-2023