Project Description:
The goal of this project is to maintain the integrity of watersheds by assessing levels of PCBs which have leached from road paint over a set amount of time and the effect on the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), a regulation set by Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Based on the amount of road paint within a watershed area, a quantifiable amount of PCB could be leaching into the watershed where it would bioaccumulate within the food chain. In order to quantify the leaching of road paint, the team found PCB concentrations through lab work and road paint volume for the College Park area using Civil 3D drafting techniques. Using all of this data, a PCB calculator was created for general use and to spread awareness of the quantity of PCB leaching from road paint into watersheds.
