ALARA/ALARP Principles

ALARA/ALARP Principles

ALARA/ALARP Principles

04/22/26

“How can we take a practical, secure approach to environmental safety in organizational operations?”

Environmental safety in organizational operations can vary drastically, ranging from simple catch-basin cleanup to nuclear remediation. While we can’t completely remove risk, we can heavily reduce to as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA, reduce it as much as you can achieve, such as going beyond basic care in heavy radiation settings) or as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP, reduce risk to as low as whatever fits guidelines/standards and is cost-benefit optimal). These ALARA/ALARP Principles are fundamental to creating a safe place for everyone.

 Landfill Clay Liners

 Landfill Clay Liners

 Landfill Clay Liners

04/21/26

“How can we prevent landfill leachates from seeping into the ground?”

Landfill leachates can be hazardous to people and the environment. Consequentially, we want to prevent them from making contact with the Earth’s surface. We can accomplish this through a highly impermeable barrier, such as Landfill Clay Liners. Landfill clay liners may be partially composed of geotextiles. Landfill operators will need to look out for dessication in clay liners.

Desiccation in Landfills

Desiccation in Landfills

Desiccation in Landfills

04/20/26

“How does extreme dryness affect landfills?”

Desiccation is when objects become incredibly dry and shrink and crack. Dessication in landfill clay liners will lead to increased permeability through cracking and result in more leachate escaping. Desiccation in Landfills typically happens from hot, dry weather and waiting too long before waste is placed in the clay liner.

Specific Yield

Specific Yield

Specific Yield

04/18/26

“How can we quantify how much water we can extract from a saturated medium?”

Groundwater exists in the pores of saturated soils and rocks. We cannot extract all of the groundwater from the pores, some will stay stuck. We can quantify the groundwater extraction potential by taking a sample of the medium and dividing the volume of water that drains freely from gravity by the total volume of the soil or rock, resulting in the Specific Yield. The specific yield plus the volume of the remnant water, called the Specific Retention, equals the porosity of the .

Why Hydrogen is Oxidized First in Combustion Reactions

Why Hydrogen is Oxidized First in Combustion Reactions

Why Hydrogen is Oxidized First in Combustion Reactions

04/17/26

“Why is hydrogen oxidized first in combustion reactions?”

Combustion reactions with an insufficient air-fuel ratio result in extraneous carbon monoxide or soot. Why does this happen? Well, it’s because hydrogen has a lower activation energy than carbon, which makes it react with oxygen before carbon can. This is Why Hydrogen is Oxidized First in Combustion Reactions.

Fugitive Particulate Matter

Fugitive Particulate Matter

Fugitive Particulate Matter

04/16/26

“What’s special about particulate matter that directly enters the atmosphere?”

Picture particulate matter emissions. You’re likely visualizing emissions from a stack or duct. However, particulate matter can also be released from industrial operations, agricultural practices, and construction sites as fugitive particulate matter. Infrastructure operators have to design fugitive particulate matter control plans.

Activation Energy

Activation Energy

Activation Energy

04/15/26

“What’s the minimum amount of energy for chemical reactions to occur?”

Chemical reactions cannot happen on their own. The molecules need to have a certain amount of collisions, or energy, to react. The minimum amount of energy for chemical reactions to occur is known as the Activation Energy. Activation energy is often provided in the form of heat.  

Biosparging

Biosparging

Biosparging

04/14/26

“How can we treat groundwater without removing it from an aquifer using compressed air?”

Microbes use air to consume organic matter. By injecting air into contaminated water, we can spur microbial growth that consumes pollutants. We can even do this to groundwater in aquifers. Biosparging is an in-situ groundwater remediation process that uses compressed air to achieve biodegradation.

Galvanic Series

Galvanic Series

Galvanic Series

04/13/26

“Is there a list that sorts how likely a metal is to corrode?”

Two metals with significant enough anodic index differences will corrode. But is there a list that sorts metals based on their anodic index differences? Well, this comes in the form of the Galvanic Series. The lower on the list, the more protected against corrosion a specific metal is, and the higher the more vulnerable to corrosion.