Stanford University Prof. Perry L. McCarty, a pioneer in development of the understanding of biological and chemical processes for safe supply and treatment of water, was named on World Water Day as the 2007 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate.
Dr. McCarty’s work has led to more efficient biological treatment processes, in particular anaerobic (oxygen-less) treatment systems for municipal and industrial wastewaters, biological nutrient removal, and the development and use of biofilm reactors, including for bioremediation. He has defined the field of environmental biotechnology that is the basis for small-scale and large-scale pollution control and safe drinking water systems.
The Stockholm Water Prize Laureate receives US$150,000 along with a glass sculpture, which will be presented 16 August during the 2007 World Water Week in Stockholm. H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is the Patron of the Stockholm Water Prize, which was founded in 1990 and is overseen by the Stockholm International Water Institute.
An educator and researcher at Stanford since 1962, McCarty has published over 300 papers in water science, environmental engineering and microbiology science journals, 50 of which in the last decade. His two textbooks on the chemistry, biology and design of treatment systems for municipal and industrial wastewater are daily used by engineers all over the world. He also spent 14 years as director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-sponsored Western Regional Hazardous Substances Research Center.
EU, US agree to cooperate on environmental research
Under a new agreement reached in February by the U.S. and European Union, scientists and researchers from both will be working closer together to more strategically address common environmental challenges. The USEPA and European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, agreed on an “Implementing Arrangement on Environmental Research and Ecoinformatics” - the study of information in ecology and environmental science - which was negotiated under auspices of the bilateral Science and Technology Agreement between the two governments.
“This bilateral research framework marks a new level of collaboration between the U.S. EPA and the Commission to help ensure that our efforts to protect the environment and public health, while promoting wealth through eco-innovation, are strongly supported by sound science. The collaboration will bring closer together scientists involved in policy analysis research and in this way help mutual understanding of topical environmental policy questions,” said José Manuel Silva Rodríguez, Director-General for Research of the European Commission.
Following EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson’s signature in Washington, DC, signed the EPA-EC Implementing Arrangement on the margins of the EU-U.S. Joint Consultative Group meeting on 9 February in Brussels. An opportunity to turn this arrangement - which includes direct collaboration between U.S. and European researchers and consortia; joint sponsorship of conferences, workshops and meetings; and mutual participation in peer reviews - into practice is cooperation under the newly launched 7th EU Research Framework Programme (FP7, 2007-2013). Related topics are included in the first calls for proposals (www.ec.europa.eu/research) with a May 7 submission deadline.
NSF International, WHO expand cooperative program
U.S.-based NSF International unveiled a new agreement to further expand its support of the WHO Collaborating Centres for Food Safety, Water Safety and Indoor Environment. Building on an existing collaboration, NSF will now provide the World Health Organization with a full-time employee at its Geneva, Switzerland, headquarters.
Lena Hope, NSF senior certification project manager, was chosen by WHO to be the first NSF staff member to participate in the new program. She has been a project manager for NSF’s Water Distribution Systems Program for over five years and holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Chemical Technology in Russia, Moscow.
In the first year of this secondment agreement, the NSF employee will work on assignment through WHO’s water sanitation and health programs to assist in developing new studies and guidance. This program will continue each year and will focus on providin future opportunities in the areas of food and water safety, and indoor environments.
“WHO is pleased to have Ms. Hope onboard working with us as part of this assignment,” said Jamie Bartram, WHO coordinator for Assessing and Managing Environmental Risks. “We have very specific goals to achieve, and we are looking forward both to a high-value outcome and to it serving as the model for many successful future annual secondments working with NSF International.”
Field Notes
MEXICO: The U.S.-Mexico Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and North American Development Bank (NADB) approved certification of infrastructure projects for the communities of Lordsburg, New Mexico; Matamoros and Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, Mexico; and Pharr, Texas. The projects, aimed at improved water, wastewater and solid waste disposal services in the border communities will cost an estimated total of $54.55 million to construct, and offer long-term benefits to 839,400 border residents in the four communities.
USA: Under a U.S.-China agreement signed March 27 to expand a cooperative program that provides U.S. technical assistance, the USEPA will collaborate with China to explore better management solutions to improve the health and accessibility of China’s water resources. Increasing water conservation and efficiency in China, where rapid industrialization creates mounting environmental challenges, will help reduce energy consumption and air pollution locally and globally, as well as protect water quality.
In other news, the USEPA and Japanese Ministry of Environment held a workshop March 5-6 at Washington, DC-based World Resources Institute to expand their efforts on climate change and sustainable development in developing countries. The workshop was the third EPA-Japan meeting in the past 12 months focused on co-benefits in transportation, agriculture, energy and waste sectors in developing countries, including water and wastewater issues.
CANADA: Oil & gas industry water treatment specialist TORR Canada Inc. delivered, as scheduled, the first half of its contract with SK Engineering & Construction (SKEC), one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement and construction organizations. The March 2006 contract provided for seven sets of TORR water treatment systems to treat 260,000 barrels per day of water, for a total value of over US$22.4 million. Four out of the seven sets to be operated by Kuwait Oil Company were delivered by mid-February with the balance expected in the first quarter.
USA: Everywhere liquids and gases flow in pipes there are valves to control it. Over 25,000 companies make valves around the world. This year, they will generate sales of $43 billion and, by 2010, those will rise to $53 billion, fueled by new applications in developed countries and by industrial expansion in developing countries. These are conclusions in the online continually updated McIlvaine report, “Industrial Valves World Markets.” The remediation of groundwater, desalination of seawater, and conventional drinking water treatment are all growing sectors. Treatment of municipal wastewater in Asia is also expanding rapidly.
USA: United Technologies Corp. unit Hamilton Sundstrand acquired Dosatron International, a privately held manufacturer of specialized dosing/metering pumps. Based in Tresses, France, it has been integrated into Milton Roy, one of Hamilton Sundstrand’s three industrial units.
