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An Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Testing of a Ballast Exchange Assurance Meter (BEAM) 100
Citation:
BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE, M. Schrock, W. Ivancic, C. Hunt, Z. Willenburg, AND A. Dindal. An Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Testing of a Ballast Exchange Assurance Meter (BEAM) 100. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/134 (NTIS PB-2008-106040), 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL) Human Exposure and Atmospheric Sciences Division (HEASD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. HEASD′s research program supports Goal 1 (Clean Air) and Goal 4 (Healthy People) of EPA′s strategic plan. More specifically, our division conducts research to characterize the movement of pollutants from the source to contact with humans. Our multidisciplinary research program produces Methods, Measurements, and Models to identify relationships between and characterize processes that link source emissions, environmental concentrations, human exposures, and target-tissue dose. The impact of these tools are improved regulatory programs and policies for EPA.
Description:
Mid-ocean ballast water exchange (BWE) is mandatory for all vessels entering U.S. waters from outside the 200-mile exclusive economic zone. To support such regulation, accurate and portable verification tools are needed for determining that BWE has taken place. One parameter proposed as a means of distinguishing between coastal and open ocean water content in ballast water is CDOM. CDOM refers to the fraction of colored dissolved organic matter that absorbs light and fluoresces in the UV and visible regions of the spectrum. This BWE technology provides a portable, quick measurement of CDOM. The technologies function by measuring the amount of fluorescent CDOM in ballast water and with the results reported via a digital display or electronic output signal. The technology verified with this testing was a Ballast Exchange Assurance Monitor -100 (Dakota, Inc.)