Photo by Neil Brake David Kosson (right), professor of chemical engineering; Florence Sanchez, research assistant professor; and Andy Garrabrants, graduate student; use a leaching apparatus to help research how varying combinations of chemicals might react to each other in landfills.

by Emily Waltz

In 1997, dangerously high levels of arsenic and cyanide were found in the groundwater in Gum Springs, Ark., near the Reynolds Metals Company landfill. The discovery surprised both Reynolds -- the manufacturer of Reynolds Wrap and other popular household products -- and the Environmental Protection Agency. EPA's recommended testing procedure, which the company had followed, had given a green light to a proprietary method for disposing of aluminum wastes that Reynolds had developed. Unfortunately, the results of EPA's test were wrong.

David Kosson, chairman of environmental and civil engineering and professor of chemical engineering, has developed a strategy that could prevent such surprises in the future. Kosson and his team have designed a protocol that can more accurately predict the chemical reactions that will result when different kinds of wastes are mixed in a given landfill. Kosson's protocol has been accepted for publication by the journal Environmental Engineering Science, and EPA officials are considering adopting it as a supplement to their current procedures.

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New IV pump helps prevent drug dosage errors

VUMC co-developed tool with California company

by Paul Govern

Years of collaboration between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and California-based intravenous infusion pump maker Alaris Medical Systems have resulted in a new IV pump that automatically checks drug and dosage information to alert nurses to any potential medication error. Vanderbilt will be the second medical center in the world to use the new pump. Roughly 95 percent of Vanderbilt University Hospital patients are placed on an IV pump at some point during their hospital stay.

"I think this is the most powerful patient safety advance I've ever seen," said Irene Hatcher, coordinator of Clinical Pathways and Case Management, one of those at Vanderbilt who helped develop the Alaris pump. VUMC has been aiding development of the pump for eight years, with contributions coming from nurses, physicians, biomedical informatics and the pharmacy. Jim Hutchinson, director of Biomedical Electronics, led Vanderbilt's part in the project.

'Alphabet Soup' spells out the dos and don'ts of University employment policies

by Jessica Howard

True or false: An employer can legally obtain and use an applicant's arrest record as the basis for non-employment.

If you answered true -- and if this were a real situation -- you may have just practiced illegal job discrimination. Unless an applicant is applying for employment at a law enforcement agency, obtaining an arrest record is illegal, although obtaining conviction information is legal if the job applied for is "security sensitive."

"Alphabet Soup: EEO/AA Training for Managers and Supervisors," helps managers and supervisors make sense of the myriad of laws -- Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Americans With Disabilities Act, for starters -- regarding employment policies and procedures. The Opportunity Development Center, which serves as the University's equal opportunity, affirmative action and disability services office, organizes the eight-hour training seminar.

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