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

虽然半导体技术正在迅速发展，但人们对未来半导体中使用的新金属的环境行为或毒理学知之甚少。行业需要在早期做出选择的能力，以避免可能威胁新技术可持续性的意外。该项目将解决对新型工业材料进行早期评估的需要，以防止今后对环境和人类健康造成不利影响。该项目将使人们更好地了解一系列重要但研究不足的金属的工业和自然循环，以及它们在采矿过程中的释放。它还将有助于更深入地了解作为副产品开采的金属的开采通量，这反过来可能支持确定和优先处理新出现的金属污染物的框架。这项研究的重点是铟、镓、锗和碲的循环，这是一组金属，人们对其环境循环知之甚少，毒性已被提出，由于关键能源技术的新用途，工业用途有可能大幅增加。这些金属以锌和铅矿石中的痕量成分存在，作为这些主要金属的副产品开采，并具有受采矿和冶炼作业释放的强烈影响的周期。焦油溪超级基金遗址将评估采矿活动中铟、镓、锗和碲的赋存状态、流动性和人类暴露的途径，由于其铅锌开采历史和目前的矿山废物来源，该遗址可以作为一个模范场地。这些金属将在环境样本中进行测量，以确定它们对居住在该地区的个人的循环和主要暴露路径，并在这些个人的血液样本中进行测量，以将暴露于身体负担联系起来。除了技术方面，该项目还包括教育和推广活动，包括让本科生参与研究，在一年一度的剑桥科学节上举办教育展览，以及与居住在焦油河附近和附近美洲原住民土地的个人举行社区会议，以交流结果，寻求对继续研究的意见，并鼓励积极参与可持续发展科学。该项目由NSF科学、工程和教育可持续发展研究员(SEE FLOLS)计划支持，目标是帮助实现必要的发现，为导致环境、能源和社会可持续发展的行动提供信息，同时创造必要的劳动力来应对这些挑战。在SEES研究员的支持下，该项目将使有前途的早期职业研究人员能够在与可持续发展相关的独立研究生涯中站稳脚跟。

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.