{"id":58169,"date":"2016-03-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-graduate-school-of-oceanography-researcher-studies-toxic-chemicals-in-great-lakes\/"},"modified":"2016-03-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T00:00:00","slug":"uri-graduate-school-of-oceanography-researcher-studies-toxic-chemicals-in-great-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/03\/uri-graduate-school-of-oceanography-researcher-studies-toxic-chemicals-in-great-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 Graduate School of Oceanography researcher studies toxic chemicals in Great Lakes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tNARRAGANSETT, March 18, 2016 \u2013 It all started with Mr. Southard.<\/p>\n


\nCarrie McDonough was a high school student when Don Southard, her beloved chemistry teacher, told her about the origins of acid rain: sulfur dioxide emissions\u2014usually from smokestacks\u2014that react with water molecules to produce acids.<\/p>\n


\nShe was fascinated by the science, but also troubled by the consequences: a pernicious effect on the environment. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve always wanted to learn more about how humans alter our environment,\u201d she says, \u201cand what that means for the future of the planet and human health.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHer interest in environmental pollution is still thriving today at the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Graduate School of Oceanography where the 29-year-old Cleveland native is researching chemicals contaminating the Great Lakes, the largest group of fresh water lakes in the world.<\/p>\n


\nMcDonough recently submitted a paper to Environmental Science and Technology about her studies of chemicals polluting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Her research is important, she says, because it could prompt regulators and policymakers to pay more attention to what\u2019s dumped in the water and also inspire consumers to make better decisions about the products they use and buy.<\/p>\n


\nMcDonough\u2019s work in GSO\u2019s Lohmann Lab centers on using environmental monitoring tools to measure chemicals used in consumer products and which only recently have been recognized as possibly toxic. Surprisingly, these chemicals are not strongly regulated.<\/p>\n


\nShe is studying two groups of compounds: synthetic fragrances, which are added to shampoo, soap, deodorant, detergent and cleaning supplies to give the products a pleasing smell; and flame retardants, which are added to furniture, textiles, plastic toys and electronics to decrease flammability.<\/p>\n


\nIt\u2019s impossible to precisely identify fragrance chemicals in products, McDonough says, because the mixes are considered proprietary information, or a trade secret: The ingredients on bottles usually just say \u201cfragrance.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\u201cUnless it says \u2018natural fragrance\u2019 we don’t really know which of the thousands of chemicals manufacturers are using in a product\u2014and this is troubling,\u201d says McDonough.<\/p>\n


\nSynthetic fragrances get into waterways when people take showers or wash clothes. The chemical residue travels down the drain and ends up in wastewater treatment facilities, which remove some of the chemicals, but not all of them.<\/p>\n


\nFlame retardants also pollute the environment. Because they’re very stable and don\u2019t break down easily, these chemicals can slow combustion. But that stability means they can persist and bioaccumulate, or build up in marine life. They are often released into the air as molecules and adhere to airborne particles that are eventually deposited into the water.<\/p>\n


\nThese chemicals can be harmful to marine life as well as humans, says McDonough. Studies have shown that many of these pollutants can slow the growth of marine life, cause developmental abnormalities and interfere with reproduction. Humans are at risk, she says, because they eat the contaminated fish.<\/p>\n


\nGrowing up in the University Heights suburb of Cleveland, McDonough cultivated a love for science at an early age thanks to her mother, a neuroscientist, who took her to her laboratories and explained her research \u201cin a simple and exciting way.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPoetry and fiction writing propelled McDonough at Hathaway Brown School, as well as science, especially Southard\u2019s chemistry class, where she learned that \u201cI could apply science to real life.\u201d Her next stop was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study chemistry. <\/p>\n


\nAfter graduating in 2008, she took a break from her studies for two years, playing rhythm guitar and singing in her Indie rock band \u201cFortran\u201d\u2014a shout-out to old computer language. From there, she went into environmental consulting for a firm in Massachusetts. <\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站 was her first choice for graduate school, mostly so she could work with Professor Rainer Lohmann, a leader in researching organic pollutants in the oceans, lakes and atmosphere. <\/p>\n


\nFor her dissertation, McDonough is returning to her roots, measuring those pollutants in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, where she spent her summers as a child. To get her data, she uses polyethylene passive samplers\u2014thin plastic sheets that absorb synthetic fragrances and flame retardants.<\/p>\n


\nSince 2011, along with \u201ccitizen scientists\u201d in the area, she has put about 300 sheets at various sites on the lakes. The sheets, which measure about 3 by 5 inches, absorb the chemicals in much the same way fatty tissues absorbs them. \u201cThey work in a sponge-like way. Chemicals accumulate inside the plastic over time,\u201d says McDonough, who, along with a 溏心vlog免费B站 film student and media technologist, made a video that explains how to put out the sheets.<\/p>\n


\nAfter two months or so in the water\u2014and, in some cases, the air\u2014the sheets were wrapped in protective foil and shipped to McDonough at GSO for analysis. First, she put the sheets in organic solvent to pull out the contaminants and then analyzed the solvent using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. <\/p>\n


\nThe sample was injected into a long, thin column inside an oven, where it was separated out. The sample then entered a detector that identified chemicals of interest. McDonough measured pollutants based on peaks that appeared on a computer screen. <\/p>\n


\nIn her recent paper she examined synthetic fragrances in the lakes in 2012. \u201cWe were able to detect these compounds in urban areas on the shore and near wastewater treatment plants,\u201d says McDonough. \u201cGenerally, they seem to be at higher levels near densely populated areas, which suggests that these treatment plants are sources of those compounds.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAnd that should trouble anyone concerned about protecting marine life\u2014and human health. Think about it this way, she says: The chemicals get into mussels and snails, which is a food source for, say, fish. That fish is eaten by humans.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cEating seafood is a major way people are exposed to toxic pollutants,\u201d says McDonough. \u201cIt\u2019s important for us to know what\u2019s in the food we eat and the products we buy.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHer next project is examining the data involving flame retardants in the Great Lakes. Eventually, she\u2019d like to explore the toxicity of the pollutants for humans. Do they cause cancer? Do they harm reproduction? Growth?<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been exposed to thousands of chemicals since before we were even born,\u201d she says. \u201cOur generation needs to understand how these chemicals could affect our health before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above: Carrie McDonough, 29, a doctoral student at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Graduate School of Oceanography who is studying chemical pollution in the Great Lakes. Her research is funded by The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a program to improve water quality, clean up contaminated shorelines, protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat, combat invasive species and reduce storm water run off.<\/p>\n


\nPhoto by Nora Lewis.<\/p>\n


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