CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB

NEXT WEEK _____________________________________________________
Monday, March 10 - noon

Topic: Properly Removing Hazardous Waste from Chattanooga - Carrie Hunt and Marty Bourquin, WR Grace & Co.

Up until the 1970's there was no approved method for disposing of radioactive contaminated materials. Most facilities either disposed of the material on-site (in accordance with the current regulations) or stored it. The W.R. Grace facility in Chattanooga used on site retention ponds to hold the uranium and thorium containing sediments generated from their rare earth processing facility. Marty Bourquin, Manager-Environment, Health and Safety and Carrie Hunt, Senior Environmental Specialist, will discuss the successful cleanup of 11 acres of ponds and their return to unrestricted use. Topics to be covered include the remediation processes and techniques used, the establishment of free release criteria (allowable levels of residual contamination), transportation and disposal issues and options and restoration of the site.

March Invocation Chairperson: Richard Smith

Menu: Beef bourguignon, Waldorf salad, Sweet potato casserole, Crowder peas, and Cherry cobbler

OUR PREVIOUS MEETING _________________________________________

Ms. Mitzi Adams, from the Science Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center, presented information and observations about the sun, and other sources of energy in the universe. Gamma-ray observations were measured by the BATSE (Burst And Transient Source Experiment) as it orbited, but there were no instruments included with the ability to locate the source. So, observers all over the world were given pagers and asked to watch for changes in the sky after any gamma-ray burst was recorded by BATSE. A visible light was expected and was eventually observed in the direction of a gamma-ray burst. See Publications about Gamma-Ray Bursts at this website to experience a new vocabulary (for this writer) used by those who watch the sky: http://www.batse.msfc.nasa.gov . The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) was removed from orbit by NASA on June 4, 2000 bringing to an end the successful 9-year mission. During its operation, BATSE recorded 8000 triggered events.

Ms. Adams left club members 25 copies of a computer CD with educational information about the SOHO (Solar & Heliospheric Observatory) project. She answered questions about sun spots and told us that sun spots are magnetic regions on the Sun with magnetic field strengths thousands of times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. While diplomats and armies of the world struggle with wars, scientists all over the globe are working together to observe and study the sun. Two agencies are leading the project: the European Space Agency (ESA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SOHO was built by the Europeans and was launched on December 2, 1995. Large radio dishes around the world which form NASA's Deep Space Network are used to track the spacecraft beyond the Earth's orbit. Mission control is based at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. For more about SOHO see their web site at: http://science.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/default.htm

Check our website at http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org for meeting summaries prior to last Monday.

Very special thanks to Judy Driggans for providing this meeting summary. For the complete meeting details please check http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/MeetingMinutes/CECMinutes030303.pdf .

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS ___________________________________

March 17: Chemical Warfare - Donald C. Thomas, PE, Consulting Engineer

March 24: Update on Diamond Chemical Vapor Deposition Technology - Dale Bradshaw, TVA - Power Delivery Technologies

March 31: FIELD TRIP: NRC Technical Training Facility - Jan Griffin (Tour subject to terrorist threat level being YELLOW or below)

April 21: UTC Senior Design Projects

WHERE WE MEET _______________________________________________
Unless we note otherwise, all of our presentation meetings are held at the Cellar Restaurant in the Tallan Building, Union Square Downtown Chattanooga from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Our meeting room and luncheon service are open by 11:30 a.m. Lunch buffet is $10.00 per person (inclusive). No reservation is required. Free parking is available in the Days Inn Motel (on Carter St. and MLK Blvd,) courtesy of the Days Inn management. When you park there, be sure to place a note on your dashboard indicating you are attending the Engineers Club meeting.

QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS ? _____________________________________
If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please call Brad Baucom at 423-648-3582 or e-mail him at bradbaucom@comcast.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org .