SEES Fellows: An integrated study of the biogeochemical cycling and human health implications of In, Ga, Ge, and Te, elements critical to emerging energy technologies

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

While semiconductor technologies are rapidly advancing, little is known about the environmental behavior or toxicology of the new metals that will be used in future semiconductors. Industry needs the ability to make choices early on to avoid surprises that may threaten the sustainability of new technologies. This project will address the need for the early assessment of novel industrial materials in order to prevent future adverse environmental and human health impacts. The project will result in a better understanding of the industrial and natural cycling of a suite of important but understudied metals, and their releases from mining processes. It will also contribute to deeper understanding of the mining flux of metals that are mined as byproducts, which may in turn support a framework for identifying and prioritizing emerging metal contaminants. The research focuses on the cycling of indium, gallium, germanium, and tellurium, a suite of metals for which environmental cycling is poorly understood, toxicity has been suggested, and industrial use has the potential to increase dramatically due to new uses in critical energy technologies. These metals exist as trace constituents in zinc and lead ores, are mined as byproducts of these primary metals, and have cycles that are influenced strongly by releases from mining and smelting operations. The occurrence, mobility, and pathways of human exposure of indium, gallium, germanium, and tellurium resulting from mining activities will be assessed at the Tar Creek Superfund site, which can serve as a model site due to its history of lead and zinc mining and present-day sources of mine waste. The metals will be measured in environmental samples to establish their cycling and primary exposure pathways to individuals living in the area, and in blood samples from such individuals to link exposure to body burdens. In addition to technical aspects, this project involves education and outreach activities including engagement of undergraduate students in research, an educational exhibit at the annual Cambridge Science Festival, and community meetings with individuals living near Tar Creek and nearby Native American lands to communicate results, seek input on continuing studies, and encourage active participation in sustainability science. This project is supported under the NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows (SEES Fellows) program, with the goal of helping to enable discoveries needed to inform actions that lead to environmental, energy and societal sustainability while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges. With SEES Fellows support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to sustainability.