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Publications

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Characterization and modes of occurrence of elements in feed coal and coal combustion products from a power plant utilizing low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin, Wyoming Characterization and modes of occurrence of elements in feed coal and coal combustion products from a power plant utilizing low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin, Wyoming

The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research are collaborating with an Indiana utility company to determine the physical and chemical properties of feed coal and coal combustion products from a coal-fired power plant. The Indiana power plant utilizes a low-sulfur (0.23 to 0.47 weight percent S) and lowash (4.9 to 6.3 weight percent ash)...
Authors
Michael Brownfield, James Cathcart, Ronald Affolter, Isabelle Brownfield, Cynthia Rice, Joseph O’Connor, Robert Zielinski, John Bullock, James C. Hower, Gregory Meeker

Particle atlas of World Trade Center dust Particle atlas of World Trade Center dust

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun a reassessment of the presence of World Trade Center (WTC) dust in residences, public buildings, and office spaces in New York City, New York. Background dust samples collected from residences, public buildings, and office spaces will be analyzed by multiple laboratories for the presence of WTC dust. Other laboratories are...
Authors
Heather Lowers, Gregory Meeker

The composition of coexisting jarosite-group minerals and water from the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California The composition of coexisting jarosite-group minerals and water from the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California

Jarosite-group minerals accumulate in the form of stalactites and fine-grained mud on massive pyrite in the D drift of the Richmond mine, Iron Mountain, California. Water samples were collected by placing beakers under the dripping stalactites and by extracting pore water from the mud using a centrifuge. The water is rich in Fe3+ and SO4 2−, with a pH of approximately 2.1, which is...
Authors
Heather Jamieson, Clare Robinson, Charles Alpers, D. Nordstrom, Alexei Poustovetov, Heather A. Lowers

Preliminary report on using imaging spectroscopy to map ultramafic rocks, serpentinites, and tremolite-actinolite-bearing rocks in California Preliminary report on using imaging spectroscopy to map ultramafic rocks, serpentinites, and tremolite-actinolite-bearing rocks in California

Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data were collected in approximately 3- kilometer-wide swaths over selected areas in El Dorado and Plumas Counties that contain serpentinite and ultramafic rocks as part of an experiment to determine if potentially asbestos-bearing rocks could be identified spectrally. M ineral maps created from the AVIRIS data were used...
Authors
Gregg Swayze, Chris Higgins, John Clinkenbeard, Raymond F. Kokaly, Roger Clark, Gregory Meeker, Stephen Sutley

The composition and morphology of amphiboles from the Rainy Creek complex, near Libby, Montana The composition and morphology of amphiboles from the Rainy Creek complex, near Libby, Montana

Thirty samples of amphibole-rich rock from the largest mined vermiculite deposit in the world in the Rainy Creek alkaline-ultramafic complex near Libby, Montana, were collected and analyzed. The amphibole-rich rock is the suspected cause of an abnormally high number of asbestos-related diseases reported in the residents of Libby, and in former mine and mill workers. The amphibole-rich...
Authors
G.P. Meeker, A.M. Bern, I. Brownfield, H.A. Lowers, S. Sutley, T.M. Hoefen, J.S. Vance

Tabulation of asbestos-related terminology Tabulation of asbestos-related terminology

The term asbestos has been defined in numerous publications including many State and Federal regulations. The definition of asbestos often varies depending on the source or publication in which it is used. Differences in definitions also exist for the asbestos-related terms acicular, asbestiform, cleavage, cleavage fragment, fiber, fibril, fibrous, and parting. An inexperienced reader of...
Authors
Heather Lowers, Greg Meeker

USGS environmental studies of the World Trade Center area, New York City, after September 11, 2001 USGS environmental studies of the World Trade Center area, New York City, after September 11, 2001

Two days after the September 11, 2001, attack on World Trade Center (WTC), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was asked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Public Health Service to conduct a remote sensing and mineralogical characterization study of lower Manhattan around the WTC. This study, conducted in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space...
Authors
Roger Clark, Greg Meeker, Geoffrey Plumlee, Gregg Swayze

Reconnaissance study of the geology of U.S. vermiculite deposits: Are asbestos minerals common constituents? Reconnaissance study of the geology of U.S. vermiculite deposits: Are asbestos minerals common constituents?

Unusually high incidences of asbestos-related mortality and respiratory disease in the small town of Libby, Montana, have been linked to amphibole mineral fibers intergrown with the vermiculite deposits mined and milled near the town from 1923 to 1990. A study conducted by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded that mortality due to asbestosis in Libby mine...
Authors
Bradley Van Gosen, Heather Lowers, Alfred L. Bush, Gregory Meeker, Geoffrey Plumlee, Isabelle Brownfield, Stephen Sutley
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