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Jul 24, 2007 |
Science Diary: How Toxins Move - The Search
Join Science Diarist Michael Hochella on the hunt for elusive nanoparticles. Ambience: Clark Fork River, water, bird song Music We had missed an important piece of the puzzle in this particular environmental system, and maybe in all environmental systems. Welcome to Pulse of the Planets Science Diaries, a glimpse of the world of science from the inside. Were with geochemist Michael Hochella. Hes been sampling the water of Montanas Clark Fork River, hoping to find out why toxic pollutants move downstream much more quickly than theyd be expected to. Michael thinks the answer might have something to do with nanoparticles, microscopic bits of matter found everywhere including in water. Are the toxic metals, if theyre not tied up in solution, if theyre not tied up in minerals, maybe theyre tied up or associated with something in-between. Maybe theyre associated with nanoparticles. And if they are, we had better find out and we had better understand how these nanoparticles exist and what they contain. Wherever we look, we find the nanoparticles. The only reason we didnt talk about them before is because no one looked and now that were looking, were finding them. And as we find them, in some cases we think theyll be very important to the health of the environment. The point is theyre there. Weve got to find them and weve got to study them. The next step is for Michael Hochella to take the water samples hes collected and examine them under a high-powered microscope And we're going to be using this incredibly powerful electron microscope to look for these nanoparticles. And try to unlock the secrets behind these particles that transport these metals hundreds and hundreds of miles away from their source, and make these metals available to living things. Pulse of the Planets Science Diaries are made possible by the National Science Foundation. Water,Pollution,Nanotechnology Scientist: Michael Hochella |
