Argonne National Laboratory Summary Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2006.

This booklet is designed to inform the public about what Argonne National Laboratory is doing to monitor its environment and to protect its employees and neighbors from any adverse environmental impacts from Argonne research. The Downers Grove South Biology II class was selected to write this booklet, which summarizes Argonne's environmental monitoring programs for 2006. Writing this booklet also satisfies the Illinois State Education Standard, which requires that students need to know and apply scientific concepts to graduate from high school. This project not only provides information to the public, it will help students become better learners. The Biology II class was assigned to condense Argonne's 300-page, highly technical Site Environmental Report into a 16-page plain-English booklet. The site assessment relates to the class because the primary focus of the Biology II class is ecology and the environment. Students developed better learning skills by working together cooperatively, writing and researching more effectively. Students used the Argonne Site Environmental Report, the Internet, text books and information from Argonne scientists to help with their research on their topics. The topics covered in this booklet are the history of Argonne, groundwater, habitat management, air quality, Argonne research, Argonne's environmental non-radiological program, radiation, and compliance. The students first had to read and discuss the Site Environmental Report and then assign topics to focus on. Dr. Norbert Golchert and Mr. David Baurac, both from Argonne, came into the class to help teach the topics more in depth. The class then prepared drafts and wrote a final copy. Ashley Vizek, a student in the Biology class stated, 'I reviewed my material and read it over and over. I then took time to plan my paper out and think about what I wanted to write about, put it into foundation questions and started to write my paper. I rewrote and revised so I think the amount of time that I put into the project will be worth it in the end because it is a cool thing to be a published writer'. While most students agree that putting the final paper together was the toughest part, the final result was worth the hard work. Christine Beuhler states, 'The time and effort was worth it because I learned a lot about the Argonne facility. This project also improved my analyzing, reading, and writing skills'. Emily Schimick and Kaitlin Hernandez agreed that the feeling of accomplishment when they finished the paper was their favorite part, while the reading of the Argonne Site Environmental Report was their least favorite because it was difficult to understand. The Downers Grove South Biology II class would like to thank our teacher Mr. Scott Howard, as well as Dr. Golchert and Mr. Baurac for their investment in time and energy in helping with the project. Dr. Golchert and Mr. Baurac gave us valuable assistance in the preparation of this project, and we owe them our deepest gratitude. Their real-life experience at Argonne was inspirational. Mr. Howard set the goals and made the commitment to our class to complete this project. Without their kind support, this project would not have been possible