Syllabus
Course: Earth and Environmental Science 60 (lab 61), Urban Environmental Issues:
Learning about Superfund Site Redevelopment and Community Involvement
This course will be taught with civic engagement aspects. It has been previously taught
as a learning community (where two different courses were explicitly linked).
Contact hours: Earth and Environ. Science 60: 11:30-12:30 MWF BR 113
Earth and Environmental Science 61 lab: Tu 1:00-4:00 (BR 113)
Office Hours: Th 1:00 to 4:00 PM and by appointment
Course credit: 1 course
Course Instructor: Steve Bachofer, Department of Chemistry
Office: BR 304; Phone number: 631-4694; email: bachofer@stmarys-ca.edu
Course Summary:
To begin our focused look at brownfields and Superfund sites, the course will have some
assigned readings on environmental risk assessment. To become more comfortable
reading materials related to the cleanup and redevelopment of the Alameda Point
Superfund site, the class will use the Chemistry in Context book for chemistry content.
The When Smoke Ran Like Water text will be utilized to encourage the students that you
need to be informed citizens and provide a historical context of how much more we now
know with respect to environmental degradation than we did a decade ago.
To facilitate the class’s connection with Alameda Point which is our study site, the class
will have a field trip during one lab and a team project, plus a few labs related to the site.
The student team projects will be organized using the consultant working group model.1
A significant portion of the student’s grade will be dependent on his/her input to the
student team projects. The final assessment of a student’s performance on team project
work will be the faculty member’s responsibility. The student teams will collect
information and assemble materials for a report (on an environmental effort at Alameda
Point) which will be added to a website that can serve as a resource for the community.
Students will be required to visit one public meeting on the redevelopment of Alameda
Point (this may be a RAB meeting, public meeting, etc.). The class will receive specific
instructions on how any materials collected from a public meeting might be added to the
website. This course fulfills the Area B lab science requirement so all students must be
enrolled in the weekly lab and lab grades will be a part of the course grade.
Alameda Point is our field site and students will hear from individuals representing
government agencies and community organizations giving us different perspectives on
the redevelopment. The class will also explore the critical questions that the Bay Area is
facing which are linked to sustainability (maintaining the quality of life, remaining a viable
economic center, etc.). In focusing on the reuse of urban industrial sites, our class will
hopefully recognize the need to be good stewards of the resources that we have and to
respect the diversity in our region. Our general goal is to work cooperatively with the
Alameda Point community so that we can be educated on the redevelopment and we
also provide a benefit to the community.
1. An Undergraduate Course as a Consulting Company, James F. Hornig, in Acting
Locally, Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Environmental Studies, Harold
Ward, ed., AAHE, 1999.
Grading:
Midterms on Chapters
Problem sets
Team project web material work
Lab materials
Community engagement
Final
Class participation
200 points
100 points
200 points
160 points
40 points
200 points
100 points (includes class discussions)
Typical grading scale is 80 % A cutoff; 65 % B cutoff; 50 % C cutoff; 35 % D cutoff.
Texts:
Chemistry in Context, Applying Chemistry to Society, 7th ed., C. H. Middlecamp, S. Keller, Karen
L. Anderson, Anne K. Bentley, Mchael C. Cann, and Jamie P. Ellis, McGraw-Hill Higher
Education, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-07-3375666-3)
When Smoke Ran Like Water, Devra Davis, Basic Books, 2002 (ISBN 0-465-01521-1).
Reference Texts (on reserve in library and on the Internet)
The Upside of Base Closures; Tools for Reinvesting in Communities, East Bay Conversion and
Reinvestment Commission, 2000, Library of Congress 99-75766.
NAS Alameda Community Reuse Plan, prepared for Alameda Reuse and Redevelopment
Authority, January 1996. (http://www.cityofalamedaca.gov/City-Hall/Alameda-Point-GoingForward this report is now available at City web site listed as a key planning document)
Additional Government, private enterprise, and public non-profit organization documents. Since
this is a research-oriented course, most library resources should be available through interlibrary
loans, Link+, or the internet.
Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, that take into account the context of the
course and its essential elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities, are
extended through the office of Student Disability Services. Students with disabilities are
encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Coordinator at (925) 631-4164 to
set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available
services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the
following address on the Saint May’s website: http://www.stmarysca.edu/academics/academic-advising-and-achievement/student-disability-services.html
EES 61 Lab Experiment Summary [Labs are held on Tuesdays]
Lab Check-in & worksheet (Week 1, Feb. 12) Simple chemical reaction balancing
using models sets. (10 points)
Gas reactions in large syringes (Week 2, Feb. 19). This experiment will have the
class prepare gases. The reactivity and characteristics of various gases will be
investigated. Bubbling CO2 through other solutions should yield important precipitates.
Carbonate salts used in water treatment plants to purify water. (20 points) Reactions
show: ___ Gases absorbed or released
___ Heat absorbed or released
Thermal Reaction Chemistry (Week 3, Feb. 26) (30 points) Reactions show:
___ Heat absorbed or released.
___ Solutions yielding a color change.
___ Gases absorbed or released.
___ Solutions yielding a physical property change.
I.
H2O2 decomposition with added catalyst.
II.
Follow up assignment - Web search on remediation technologies and/or
utilize computer CD on the reactivity of metals (use MERL).
Introduction to Spectroscopy analysis - iron salicylate to quantify salicylate
(Week 4 & 5, March 5 & 12) and SALG Using Spec 20 instruments and five or more
standards make a Beer’s law plot. Use this iron salicylate complex to quantify the
aspirin in a common tablet, etc. (30 points)
Visit of Alameda Point including APC Week 6 March 19
[EASTER Break]
Soil Screening Field Study (Week 7, 8, & 9 April 2,9, 16) – FP-XRF sampling of soils
contaminated with lead and a field sampling). [Cal-Trans and City permits] (50 points)
(Phone call must be one week in advance)
___ Collect, map, and possibly start XRF analysis dependent on weather (3 weeks)
___ reflection/write letters to community (in class/homework)
___ present radiation safety protocol and informed consent
___ provide other health and safety equipment.
NO2 Gas Analysis using diffusion tubes (Week 10 & 11, April 23, 30)
Cal – Trans permit allows us to place diffusion tubes near the Webster Posey Tube
(Phone call must be one week in advance) and have permission to sample at SMC
sites (and possibly APC). (30 points)
Community Outreach (Week 12 May 7) Students plan to summarize reports and
possible extra screening experiment. Possible presentation to APC personnel in May.
Plan a poster and then deliver it. (30 points – includes sampling in April)
Lab Check out, Turn-in any Final Team Project materials and this is a possible
presentation day at APC, Complete SALG in Lab (Week 13, May 14)
Course Activity Schedule
Week Reading
Assignment
1
Read more
Feb
Superfund web;
11,13 Brownfield
& 15
definition;
DD Preface &
Chap. 1
CiC Chap. 0
2
CiC Chap.1 & 2
Feb
18,20
& 22
3
CiC Chap.2
Feb
DD Chap. 3
25, 27 Read
&
Mar1
4
CiC Chap.2 & 3
March
4,6
&8
Class Activity
Writing
Speakers &
Assignment Events
What is your
picture of a
Superfund
site?
What may
occur at
Alameda?
Problems in
Chap. 1 W
One page
on DD- C1
Problems in
Chap. 2; W
Labs
Create an
outline on
team work
for Alameda
Point.
Possibly
attend RAB
meeting
March 14
6:30-9 PM
Meet with
EPA project
manager?
Spectral
study of
Aspirin
After visit,
what is the
potential of
Alameda
Point?
EASTER
Plus Intro to
XRF
Field Trip to
Alameda
Point
Caravan?
Lab day on site
Disc-DD 4
Team Research
references list
on project.
Problems in
Chap. 4; F
Problems in
Chap. 4;
What web
resources?
Field work
(lab)
Risk Lead
Spread
activity
XRF field
work
Caravan?
Midterm Chap.
3 & 4 Monday
Disc-EPA video
EPA Video
assignment
content/form
XRF field
sampling for
APC project
time
Syllabus, View
video, DTSC
doc.,
Disc-DD 1
Disc-EPA docs
on Alameda
Point sites.
Disc-DD 3
5
CiC Chap.3
March
11, 13
& 15
Midterm Chap.
0, 1 & 2 on
Wednesday
6
CiC Chap.3
March DD Chap.4
18, 20
& 22
Lab day on site
7
March
25-29
8
April
1, 3 &
5
EASTER
Steve contact
Cal-Trans
EASTER
Monday
CiC Chap. 4
H. Needleman
papers, etc.
CiC Chap. 4
Marsh Crust
ROD possibly
8
April
8, 10
& 12
9
CiC Chap. 5
April
Reports on
15, 17 sites
&19
Problems in
Chap. 3; W
Check-in;
SALG;
Balancing
worksheet
Gas
Reaction
Thermal
Reactions
Chem
Spectral
study of
Aspirin
EASTER
XRF field
work
Caravan?
10
April
22,
24, &
26
11
April
29 &
May 1
&3
12
May
6, 8 &
10
13
May
13, 15
&17
CiC Chap. 5
DD Chap. 5
14
May
20
start
Research
on content
for team
reports
NO2 expt in
field
NO2 expt in
field
CiC Chap. 7
Review newer
gov doc
Disc DD 5
Chap. 5
problems F
Compiling
team
reports and
posters
CiC Chap. 7
New nuclear
reactor papers;)
May 9 6:309 PM RAB
meeting
possible
CiC Chap. 7
Final project
review;
assemble web
materials
Present
team
reports/web
resources
Chap. 7
problems F
Finals
Comprehensive
exam weighting
last two
chapters
Finals
Comprehen
sive exam
weighting
last two
chapters
* DD – Devra Davis text; CiC – Chemistry in Context text
SMC Van
plus cars
report out to
APC
Review team
and website
materials
plus SALG, &
Checkout
Finals
Course Lab : E&ES Lab 61: Urban Environmental Issues
Laboratory Summary:
The laboratory experiments are designed to be instructional. In particular, two
field experiments are planned which may yield useful data for the community of Alameda
Point. The gas generation and reactivity experiments are planned to provide some
introductory background before the field experiments. This year’s outreach will be the
associated team research projects.
The laboratory gives the student a tactual sense for the concepts of chemistry in
the course. Students can “learn by doing” in the laboratories and the experiments match
aspects of the course readings. This is an opportunity to hone your individual
observational skills, to gain simple laboratory skills, and to develop writing skills. The
use of spectroscopic methods is highlighted in the course. The field sampling
experiences allow the students to discover how difficult it is to demonstrate whether a
chemical is or is not present at a field site. The field sampling experiments serve to
inform the community to the best of our ability. The student’s challenge is to learn to
clearly explain the data collected. Therefore the laboratory experience provides
complementary instruction to the formal texts.
The laboratory requires students keep a laboratory notebook turning in their
observations and conclusions on the experiments which are graded. Students write
cover letters to append to the certain reports with field sampling to communicate the
results to the respective entities. The letters and lab notebooks are graded for content
and clarity. The lab work requires preparing before the lab and completing any
designated follow-up exercises. There are five different experiments and the community
outreach at APC. In addition to the community engagement may have some field
sampling dependent on the needs of the community too.
Grading specifics:
Laboratory attendance is mandatory. For each lab period, students’ notebooks should
have a record of the plan of action, observations and data (qualitative and quantitative),
and conclusions with the exception of the labs scheduled for a two week period which
have only one formal conclusion section. For each lab, the lab notebook work is graded
on a point scale noted in the schedule above.. The two field experiments (XRF and NO2
gas) each involve collecting the data, and composing the letters and reports for the
community. The community outreach is likely to be a poster. The community outreach
will be graded for respectfully collecting data and planning to communicate the data. A
student who is ill should contact the professor in advance. Makeup opportunities may
not be possible since the lab meets on only one day each week (however students
should inquire) and the lab field work is planned for explicit dates. There may be a slight
shift in the labs if access to field sites are limited and these changes will be announced
in class or by email.