Selenium leached from coal tailings and spoil is a challenge for mining operations in southern West Virginia. Selenium discharges are not supposed to exceed 5 lg/L, and yet are commonly in the range of 10-25 lg/L. Once in the selenate form, selenium removal can be extremely difficult and expensive, particularly in the narrow valleys and highly variable flow regimes of southern West Virginia. This study reports on the first 96 weeks of a leaching study. Selenium leached at the rate of 0.06% of the extant selenium pool per day. After 96 weeks, about 35% of the original, potentially mobile selenium had leached. While sulfur was far more abundant, its leach rate was about 10% of the selenium rate. Iron oxyhydroxide was found to reduce the concentration of dissolved selenium by about 70%, which indicates that selenite is the dominant, mobile selenium species during initial weathering, and that selenium could be controlled at its source, through special handling and treatment of selenium-rich rock units. Iron oxyhydroxide kept selenium near the regulatory limit of 5 lg/L throughout the experiment.

Widespread salinization—and, in a broader sense, an increase in all total dissolved solids (TDS)—is threatening freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide (e.g., drinking water provision). We used a mixed modeling approach to characterize long-term (2010–2018) spatio-temporal variability in TDS within the Monongahela River basin and used this information to assess the extent and drivers of vulnerability. The West Fork River was predicted to exceed 500 mg/L a total of 133 days. Occurrence and duration (maximum = 28 days) of—and thus vulnerability to—exceedances within the West Fork River were driven by low flows. Projected decreases in mean daily discharge by ≤10 cfs resulted in an additional 34 days exceeding 500 mg/L. Consistently low TDS within the Tygart Valley and Cheat Rivers reduced vulnerability of the receiving Monongahela River to elevated TDS which was neither observed (maximum = 419 mg/L) nor predicted (341 mg/L) to exceed the secondary drinking water standard of 500 mg/L. Potential changes in future land use and/or severity of low-flow conditions could increase vulnerability of the Monongahela River to elevated TDS. Management should include efforts to increase assimilative capacity by identifying and decreasing sources of TDS. Upstream reservoirs could be managed toward low-flow thresholds; however, further study is needed to ensure all authorized reservoir purposes could be maintained.

Objective. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the use of sensory garments for improving sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder. Method. Using a single-subject ABAB reversal design, the researchers evaluated the effectiveness of a sensory garment on sleep duration, sleep latency, and parental stress related to a child’s sleep. Four children aged 4–10 participated. We measured sleep duration and sleep latency using the Garmin watches and parent-report sleep logs, parent stress using the Parenting Stress Index Short Form, and sleep behaviors using the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Results/Discussion. Data showed variable effects on sleep duration and latency across children. The oldest child with the hyposensitive sensory patterns experienced the greatest sleep improvements. All parents experienced stress from daily life, and some reported increased stress due to study participation. Future research is recommended to further investigate the effectiveness of sensory garments on sleep for children with ASD. Therapists are encouraged to evaluate children’s development and sensory preferences prior to recommending sensory garments for sleep.

The Monongahela River Basin has an extensive history of fossil fuel development, including coal mining and natural gas extraction. In late summer 2008, total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations exceeding the United States Environmental Protection Agency′s (EPA) secondary drinking water standards were detected. After determining the source, a voluntary discharge management plan (VDMP) was developed by the West Virginia Water Research Institute (WVWRI) and implemented by the coal industry (2010). Additional remediation actions included Pennsylvania’s prohibition of produced wastewater in publicly owned treatment facilities (2011) and construction of a reverse osmosis treatment facility (2013). We used a locally weighted polynomial regression in conjunction with a segmented regression to assess the discharge and concentration trends/changepoints for bromide, chloride, sulfate, and total dissolved solids at various locations relative to the three remedial actions. We detected significant (α < 0.05) positive trends for discharge and significant negative trends for bromide, chloride, sulfate, and total dissolved solids. In conjunction, we also detected 1–4 changepoints within each model. Additionally, a linear mixed effects model containing discharge and remedial actions was used to measure the effectiveness of each remediation action in reducing TDS over time. Of the three remedial actions, the VDMP by itself was effective in maintaining river sulfate and TDS levels below the secondary drinking water standards (−0.12, p-value = 0.002). The combination of the VDMP with Pennsylvania’s produced water prohibition (−0.16, p-value < 0.001) and the combination of the VDMP with the reverse osmosis treatment facility (−0.19, p-value < 0.001) were also effective. The use of all three remedial actions produced the strongest effect (−0.37, p-value < 0.001) Since the implementation of these changes, primarily the VDMP which encompasses most of the watershed, TDS in the Monongahela has not exceeded the EPA′s secondary drinking water standards. Future management decisions should include efforts to further expand the VDMP and to monitor changes in land use or severe changes in discharge.

Rapid stability assessments are tools commonly applied to stream reaches to evaluate potential for instability and are often used to prioritize management strategies. In this work, a rapid stability assessment was created to evaluate the stability of the shoreline of Alpine Lake in West Virginia, USA. First, the assessment tool was created considering the metrics of bank height, bank angle, erosion, armoring, wind and wave action, unconsolidated materials, protection measures, vegetation, and accretion. The resulting tool was applied to 83 reaches (20-100 m in length) of the lake shoreline. The reaches were rated in terms of potential instability: very low (14%), low (42%), moderate (33%), high (10%), and very high (1%). Second, erosion rates were monitored at eight locations using erosion pins. Average erosion rates up to 0.22 mm/d were observed. Measured erosion rates generally supported the rapid assessment results, but there were some exceptions. Additional categories that consider human activity along the lakeshore for recreation should be added. If used without continued erosion monitoring, the rapid assessment should be completed multiple times because the stability of the banks with little vegetation buffer varied by season. Lastly, reclamation strategies are discussed.