Feb. 11 Frontiers of Science lecture explores environmental threat of mercury contamination

Feb. 11 Frontiers of Science lecture explores environmental threat of mercury contaminationFebruary 06, 2003Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Renowned environmental scientist Charles Driscoll, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Syracuse University’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, will present the first installment of the Spring 2003 Frontiers of Science Lecture Series Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the College of Law’s Grant Auditorium. The lecture, “Every Cloud has a Quicksilver Lining: The Environmental Chemistry of Mercury,” is free and open to the public.

Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin. Human and wildlife exposure to mercury occurs largely through the consumption of fish that live in bodies of water exposed to industrial discharges, such as Onondaga Lake. However, during the last 15 years, concerns over fish contamination have shifted from point sources, such as industrial runoff, to atmospheric sources. Studies in eastern North America have demonstrated widespread mercury contamination of fish in remote lakes in places like the Adirondacks. Driscoll will discuss the sources of the mercury contamination with a special emphasis on atmospheric contamination.

The Frontiers of Science Lecture Series is sponsored by SU’s departments of Science Teaching, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics and Physics in The College of Arts and Sciences; the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science; the School of Education; the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; and several community organizations. The series is designed to increase public awareness of advances in science and to stimulate thought and discussion about the moral, ethical and societal implications of the advances.