Students take Action in the Gulf
This past Labor Day weekend, five chemistry students accompanied Professor Larsen on a tour of the coastlines of Mississippi and Louisiana to learn more about the effects of the BP oil spill. They brought back samples of the beach sand and water to study back at St. Mary's and to further their understanding of the many environmental issues facing the gulf.
Chem majors in San Francisco
From left to right: Brian, JP, Dr. Leah Eller, Rob, Nick, Danielle, Mike, Bertrand, Anita, Janice, Dr. Andy Koch, Tabitha (Now Dr. Clem), and Taylor. Emilie and Kristina couldn't make the photo.
Last Spring, 12 St. Mary's students attended the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Fransico. Eight presented their work and we all met after Tabitha Clem's ('05) talk. Tabitha was just finishing up her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley.
"Elemental Characterization of Aerosols at Piney Point, MD
High concentrations of atmospheric trace metals can cause adverse health effects. A common source of metals in aerosols is oil combustion. Cargo ships, such as the ones found at Piney Point, burn numerous gallons of bunker fuel while they unload oil and are unregulated by the EPA. Samples taken from Piney Point were compared to samples from the SMCM boathouse to determine if these ships were contributing trace metals to the air. The results showed significantly elevated values for Ni, Cu, and Pb at Piney Point, suggesting contamination by the activities at the oil offloading facility.
