As part of her Ph.D. thesis work with the Lohmann Lab at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, HB alumna Carrie McDonough '04 is monitoring levels of invisible pollutants dissolved in air and water in the Lake Erie/Lake Ontario region. She is using devices called polyethylene passive samplers to measure persistent organic pollutants, which are manmade toxic chemicals that don't degrade over time and can accumulate in wildlife and humans. The passive samplers are sheets of plastic that absorb pollutants from the environment around them. These low-tech environmental monitoring tools are simple and safe to set up, making it easy for volunteers throughout the Great Lakes region to set up passive samplers near their homes or workplaces.
This month, McDonough returned to HB and worked with Upper School students enrolled in Jill Spano's Environmental Science class to install an air quality monitor on campus. The girls will inspect the device and analyze the data as it is collected. McDonough aims to place more samplers at schools and encourage student participation. By doing so, she hopes to increase awareness of invisible pollutants in our environment and inspire students to think of ways we can prevent further pollution of the Great Lakes.
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