Wheaton chemisty prof awarded grants on methyl mercury production
Methyl mercury, a potent neurotoxin, can exist in dangerously high concentrations in Massachusetts coastal and inland waters, high enough to pose health threats to anyone consuming fish from those areas. A Wheaton chemistry professor has been awarded two grants to study the production of methyl mercury in coastal marine sediments.
Methyl mercury, a potent neurotoxin, can exist in dangerously high concentrations in Massachusetts coastal and inland waters, high enough to pose health threats to anyone consuming fish from those areas. A Wheaton chemistry professor has been awarded two grants to study the production of methyl mercury in coastal marine sediments.
Mercury, before it is converted into the more toxic methyl mercury, is emitted from industrial sources, and makes its way into inland and coastal waters through an effective delivery system of wind and runoff. Inland and coastal waters receive these deposits of mercury, which is then converted to the more dangerous methyl mercury through the work of anaerobic bacteria.
Janina Benoit, an assistant professor of chemistry at Wheaton, has been awarded two grants supporting the study of the production of methyl mercury by anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria, particularly in the near shore environment.
The first grant, awarded by MIT/SeaGrant in the amount of $77,000, was awarded to Benoit and a co-investigator, Professor David H. Shull, a biologist from Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. The grant will support sampling work in Boston Harbor and laboratory equipment, along with student salary funds for laboratory analysis.
The second grant, for $30,000, was awarded by the Center for Environmental Bioinorganic Chemistry (CEBIC), and will have a similar research focus. Both grants provide funding for some laboratory equipment and salaries for student researchers, of vital importance to continued faculty-student research efforts.
Ultimately, research on the tiny organisms producing this toxic compound in our waters can have a positive effect on our local environment. Studies like these help provide data for making important management decisions, says Benoit. ''If mercury pollution in coastal marine environments is to be effectively managed, we must have a better understanding of the production and behavior of methyl mercury.''
