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Susan Thorneloe

Susan Thorneloe

Senior Environmental Engineer

 

 

 

Why I am a member of the IWWG?

I am responsible for US EPA research which has greatly benefitted from the connections that I have made through the IWWG. Leveraging expertise and funding leads to more sound science and more impactful research products. The IWWG fosters an environment where research is discussed in an independent forum not centered around promoting any one business or technology. Early in my career, I was aware of the benefit of leveraging international science and expertise. I tended to look outside of traditional approaches, for example using of life cycle assessment to evaluate solid waste management. I sought kindred spirits that were interested in detailed dialogue to develop a methodology that provides a more holistic and credible approach to evaluating solid waste management with the goal of optimizing energy and resources. Now there are tools including our Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool  (MSW DST) to evaluate the economic and life-cycle environmental tradeoffs to collect, transport, recover, process, recycle, compost, digest, combust, and landfill waste. These tool helps communities develop more sustainable programs for materials management.

I work in other areas as well including quantifying emissions (especially fugitive methane emissions). Some of the very best sessions anywhere in the world are the sessions at the International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium on quantifying landfill gas emissions. There are always several sessions on this topic with top researchers in the world presenting their work. It is not uncommon to see full sessions even during the 6-8pm time slots. I am grateful to those presenters willing to share their experiences and failures where we can all learn from. The IWWG promotes an open and respectful dialogue for scientists and engineers to present their research. And there is time for questions either during the sessions or on the coffee (or tea) breaks.

I am also work to develop and validate leaching methods (i.e.,  Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework) that will eventually be the primary method for determining the leaching of constituents of potential concern from waste disposal (on land), waste treatment, and “beneficial” use of industrial by-products including coal ash. Although we want use of “waste” materials, our primary focus is protection of human health and the environment. One of the principals on this research is Hans van der Sloot who has given many workshops at IWWG events on leaching. The methods are now in use in the U.S., Europe, China, Australia, and Israel.

Throughout my research, I have benefitted from IWWG colleagues and the symposia that brings us together.  It has been an invaluable connection for me in vetting ideas and getting critical feedback on our research.

I am proud to be part of the IWWG and to serve on the board.

Professional experience

1990-Present: Senior Environmental Engineer, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, USEPA, Research Triangle Park, NC
1984-1990:     Environmental Engineer, Emission Standards Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, US EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC.
1983-1984:     Chemical Engineer, MidWest Research Institute, Raleigh, NC.
1981-1982:     Process Engineer, KilKelly Environmental Associates, Raleigh, NC
1980-1981:     Field Engineer, Radian Corporation, Durham, NC

Professional societies

  • Air & Waste Management Association
  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers
  • Solid Waste Association of North American
  • Women in Science and Engineering

 

Selected honors and awards

  • Exceptional/Outstanding Technical Assist to Regions or Program Office (1992, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2005,2006)
  • Excellence in Government, Hammer Award, 1997
  • US EPA Bronze Medals for Commendable Service (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012)
  • US EPA Silver Medals for Exceptional Service (2014)
  • Scientific and Technological Achievement Award 2012

Selected publications

  1. Thorneloe, S.; Kosson, D.; Sanchez, F.; Garrabrants, A.; Helms, G. Evaluating the Fate of Metals in Air Pollution Control Residues from Coal-Fired Power Plants, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2010, 44, 7351-7356.
  2. Senior, C; Thorneloe, S.; Khan, B.; Goss, D. Fate of Mercury Collected from Air Pollution Control Devices; Environmental Management, July 2009, 15-21.
  3. Kaplan, P. O.; DeCarolis, J.; Thorneloe, S. (2009) Is It Better to Burn or Bury Waste For Clean Electricity Generation? Environmental Science and Technology, 43, (6), 1711-1717.
  4. Thorneloe, S., D. Kosson, F. Sanchez, B. Khan, P. Kariher, Improved Leach Testing for Evaluating Fate of Mercury and Other Metals from Management of Coal Combustion Residues, Published in Proceedings of the Global Waste Management Symposium, Copper Mountain, Colorado, Sept 7-10, 2008.
  5. Thorneloe, S.A., Weitz; K.A; Jambeck, J. (2007) Application of the U.S. Decision Support Tool for Materials and Waste Management, Waste Management , Vol 27, Issue  8,  Pages 1006-1020, Life-Cycle Assessment in Waste Management.
  6. Thorneloe, S.A.  U.S. EPA’s Research to Update Guidance for Quantifying Landfill Gas Emissions, Proceedings Sardinia 2007, Eleventh International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy, 1-5 October 2007.
  7. Jambeck, J., Weitz, K.A., Solo-Gabriele, H., Townsend, T., Thorneloe, S., (2007). CCA-treated Wood Disposed in Landfills and Life-cycle Trade-Offs With Waste-to-Energy and MSW Landfill Disposal, Waste Management, Vol 27, Issue 8, Life-Cycle Assessment in Waste Management.
  8. Thorneloe, S.A.; K.A. Weitz; J.Jambeck (2005)  Moving from Solid Waste to Materials Management in the United States, Proceedings Sardinia 2005, 10th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, CISA publisher, Cagliari.  Available at:  www.wte.org/docs/Thorneloe2005.pdf
  9. Thoma, E. D., R. C. Shores, E. L. Thompson, D. B. Harris, S. A. Thorneloe, R. M. Varma, R. A. Hashmonay, M. T. Modrak, D. F. Natschke, and H. A. Gamble Open Path Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy for Acquisition of Fugitive Emission Flux Data;.  Journal of Air and Waste Management Association. (55), 658-668 (2005). 
  10. Thorneloe, S.A. & Weitz K.A. (2004) Sustainability and Waste Management.  Proceedings from Sustainable Waste Management, Waste Management Association of Australia, Nov 24-26, 2004, Melbourne, Australia.
  11. Thorneloe S.A. & Weitz K.A. (2003) Holistic Approach to Environmental Management of Municipal Solid Waste.  Proceedings Sardinia 2003, 9th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, CISA publisher, Cagliari. 
  12. Weitz K.A., Thorneloe S.A., Nishtala S.R., Yarkosky S. & Zannes M.  (2002) The Impact of Municipal Solid Waste Management on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States, Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, Vol 52, 1000-1011.
  13. M. R. J. Doorn, D.F. Natschke, S.A. Thorneloe, J. Southerland, Development of an emission factor for ammonia emissions from U.S. swine farms based on field tests and application of a mass balance method, Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 5619-5625.
  14. Thorneloe S.A. & Weitz K.A. (2001) U.S. Case Studies using MSW DST. Proceedings Sardinia 2001, 8th Int. Waste Management & Landfill Symposium, Cagliari.
  15. Thorneloe S.A., Weitz K., Nishtala S., M. Zannes.  Life-Cycle Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Management in the United States, Proceedings Sardinia 2001, 8th Int. Waste Management & Landfill Symposium, Cagliari.
  16. Thorneloe, S.A. U.S. Case Studies and Analysis (Chapter 3) in Integrated Solid Waste Management:  A Life-Cycle Inventory, 2nd Edition, Blackwell Science, 2001
  17. Thorneloe, S.A.  Chapter on Waste Management in Atmospheric Methane – Its Role in the Global Environment, M.A.K. Khalil, Springer, 2000.
  18. Thorneloe S., A. Roquetta, J. Pacey, and C. Bottero, Database of Landfill-Gas-to-Energy Projects in the United States, MSW Management, March/April 2000, pages 29-37.
  19. Thorneloe S.A., The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Gas Emissions Model (LandGEM),
  20. Sardinia 99, 7th International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Vol IV, Pages 11-18, Oct 4-8,
  21. 1999.
  22. Thorneloe S.A., Weitz K.A., Barlaz M. & Ham R.K. (1999) Tools for Determining Sustainable Waste Management Through Application of Life-Cycle Assessment:  Update on U.S. Research, Sardinia 99, 7th International Landfill  Symposium, Vol V, 629-636, Oct 4-8.
  23. Thorneloe, S.; A. Roqueta, J. Pacey, C.  Bottero.  Database of Landfill Gas to Energy Projects in the United States; Sardinia 99, Seventh International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Published in Proceedings, Volume II, Pages 525-533, October 4-8, 1999.
  24. Thorneloe, S.; S. Roe, R. Strait, L. Goodroad, J. Cosulich, and J. Pacey, Emerging and Innovative Technologies for Landfill Gas Control and Utilization.  Sardinia 99, Seventh International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium, Published in Proceedings, Volume II, Pages 611-616, October 4-8, 1999.
  25. Weitz, K. A., M. A. Barlaz, S. Ranjithan, E. D. Brill, S. A. Thorneloe, and R. Ham. (1999) Life cycle management of municipal solid waste. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 4(4): 195–207.
  26. Thorneloe, S.A., Landfill Gas and Its Influence on Global Climate Change, Invited chapter in Landfilling of Waste: Biogas, Publisher Chapman and Hall, January 1995. 
  27. Thorneloe, S.A., et al., "Global Methane Emissions from Waste Management”, Published in: The Global Methane cycle. Its Sources, Sinks, Distributions and Role it, Global Change, NATO ASI Series, 1993.

Selected List of EPA Reports where Thorneloe Served as Technical Lead

  1. Laboratory-to-Field Comparisons for Leaching Evaluation using the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF), EPA 600/R-14/061, September 2014. 
  2. The Impact of Coal Combustion Fly Ash Used as a Supplemental Cementitious Material on the Leaching of Constituents from Cements and Concretes, EPA 600/R-12/704, Oct 2012
  3. Interlaboratory Validation of the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) Leaching Tests for Inclusion into SW-846: Method 1313 and Method 1316, EPA 600/R-12/623, Sept 2012 
  4. Interlaboratory Validation of the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) Leaching Tests for Inclusion into SW-846: Method 1314 and Method 1315, EPA 600/R-12/624, Sept 2012
  5. Quantifying Methane Abatement Efficiency at Three Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, EPA/600/R-11/033, Jan 2012.               
  6. Background Information for the LEAF Test Methods, EPA/600/R-10/170, Dec 2010.
  7. Characterization of Coal Combustion Residues from Electric Utilities -¬ Leaching and Characterization Data, EPA-600/R-09/151, Dec 2009
  8. Characterization of Coal Combustion Residues from Electric Utilities Using Wet Scrubbers for Multi-Pollutant Control, EPA-600/R-08/077, July 2008
  9. Characterization of Mercury-Enriched Coal Combustion Residues from Electric Utilities Using Enhanced Sorbents for Mercury Control, EPA-600/R-06/008, Feb 2006
  10. Evaluating the Thermal Stability of Mercury and Other Metals in Coal Combustion Residues Used in the Production of Cement Clinker, Asphalt, and Wallboard (EPA-600/R-09/152), Dec 2009,
  11. Background Information Document for Updating AP42 Section 2.4 for Estimating Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills (EPA/600/R-08-116, September 2008); www.epa.gov/nrmrl/pubs/600r08116/600r08116.htm 
  12. Characterization of Coal Combustion Residues from Electric Utilities Using Wet Scrubbers for Multi-Pollutant Control, EPA-600/R-08/077, www.epa.gov/nrmrl/pubs/600r08077/600r08077.htm
  13. Field Test Measurements at Five MSW Landfills with Combustion Control Technology for Landfill Gas Emissions, (EPA/600/R-07/043, April 2007); www.epa.gov/nrmrl/pubs/600r07043/600r07043.pdf
  14. Evaluation of Fugitive Emissions Using Ground-Based Optical Remote Sensing Technology (EPA/600/R-07/032, March 07);http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/pubs/600r07032/600r07032.pdf
  15. Application of Life-Cycle Management to Evaluate Integrated Solid Waste Management Strategies, webdstmsw.rti.org, 2006
  16. Characterization of Mercury-Enriched Coal Combustion Residues from Electric Utilities Using Enhanced Sorbents for Mercury Control, EPA-600/R-06/008, Feb. 2006;<http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/pubs/600r06008/600r06008.pdf>
  17. Measurement of Fugitive Emissions at a Bioreactor Landfill (EPA 600/R-05-Aug 2005);http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/pubs/600r05096/600r05096.pdf.

Contact information

U.S. EPA/Office of Research & Development
Center for Environment Solutions & Emergency Response
Homeland Security & Materials Management Division
Systems Tools & Materials Management Branch
109 TW Alexander Dr (E343-02)
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711
Office:  919 541 2709

e-mail: Thorneloe.Susan@epa.gov