In this Issue:
Greetings,
Now that we can see the first inklings of Spring, the Baltimore-Washington section is sponsoring a tour speaker.
This year, we will have Dr. Julian Tyson of the University of Massachussetts
Amherst coming to speak April 6, 2010. The Topic abstract is below. The meeting
will be at Eggspectation at 923 Ellsworth Drive in Downtown, Silver Spring,
MD. See below. Dinner selections are below, the cost is $20.00 per person, (Students
half price.)
[Special dietary requirements not met by the menu below will be addressed. If
you have any special dietary requirements, requiring different options, please
let us know].
Registration and your dinner selection should be submitted as soon as possible
to Kris Patterson (301-504-0640) or Jeb Taylor (301-796-0026) email: kris.patterson@ars.usda.gov
or jeb.taylor@fda.hhs.gov.
Local sections allow the opportunity to meet and network with people working
in various capacities in various industries, that may be working on problems
related to your work, or specific areas of interest in which you may not be
able to justify traveling to a national or international meeting to learn about.
It is also an opportunity to see old friends or colleagues or to meet new friends
and colleagues. It is not necessary to be a member of the Society for Applied
Spectroscopy to attend, friends, colleagues, spouses, significant others, are
invited as well.
A number of the former local section officers, including myself, have volunteered
to continue to support the local section as officers. If you have interest in
a well paid career in a professional society, this is not it, however, if you
have interest in the opportunity serve as an officer in the local section, please
let one of us know. The web site for the local section is supported by Mike
Epstein and is at: http://www.mikeepstein.com/bwsas/index.html If you have not
been to the web site, check it out!
Hoping to see you at the April 6, 2010 tour speaker meeting.
John S. Canham, Ph.D.
Acting Chair 2010
Baltimore-Washington SAS section
Photos from the 2009 meeting:
Meeting Announcements
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - National SAS Tour Speaker
Julian
Tyson
Department of Chemistry
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01002
The Arsenic Project:
Chemical Measurements in Support of Studies of the Biogeochemistry of Arsenic
Abstract
Arsenic is the 20th most abundant element in the earth's crust with average
concentrations in rocks of about 2 mg/kg and in soil of about 5 mg/kg. Although
arsenic appears to be relatively stable in soils and rocks, we have been able
to extract it and make a wide range of compounds with a variety of uses. Arsenic
compounds have been, and still are, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. We
spray solutions of them on roadsides, orchards, lawns, and we used to impregnate
timber for construction purposes with a solution of chromium, copper and arsenic.
This kind of "pressure-treated" wood has been phased out of use for
domestic purposes, but there is still a considerable legacy with which to deal.
It is not known to what extent this material is responsible for environmental
contamination. There is also the legacy of chemical manufacturing, as arsenic
was often discarded along with other wastes. Arsenic compounds are number 1
in the US in terms of chemicals in the environment that pose the most significant
potential threat to human health.
Naturally occurring arsenic can get into drinking water, and the contamination
of ground water is a serious issue--not just for the US. In Bangladesh and West
Bengal, India, millions of people are drinking highly contaminated water and
are showing signs of chronic arsenic poisoning. The relevant issues are (a)
how can we remove arsenic from contaminated water and (b) how can we test--in
remote, rural communities--that the water is safe. We are starting to see arsenic
contamination in food, especially rice. There are other issues: arsenic-containing
drugs are fed to chickens, arsenic was a component of some embalming fluids
and may now be leaching out of cemeteries, and arsenic may be a contaminant
of deicing salts.
To study any of these issues, we have to be able to make measurements of the
relevant compounds that are reliable. In the laboratory, we can use instrumentation
such as high performance liquid chromatography with element specific detection
by plasma-source optical or mass spectrometry; however, for field measurements,
simple test kits are needed. My group's recent research has been directed at
overcoming the shortcomings in both kinds of analytical methods. Graduate students,
upper-level undergraduates, summer students, first-year undergraduates, K-12
students and their teachers are all involved in this arsenic-related research.
Date: Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Place: Eggspectation Restaurant,
923 Ellsworth Dr., Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Time: 6 pm Social Hour, 7 pm Dinner, 8 pm Seminar
Cost: $20 (Students $10)
Menu Options:
Reservations: Please make your reservations by NOON, Friday, April 2, 2010 by emailing or calling Kris Patterson kris.patterson@ars.usda.gov (301-504-0640), or Jeb Taylor Jeb.taylor@fda.hhs.gov (301-796-0026).
Directions:
Driving: From the Washington Beltway Exit 31B S. (Georgia Ave.)
go toward downtown Silver Spring (South), about 1.9 miles. When you pass Colesville
Rd (Rt29), Ellsworth Drive will be the next Left. To park, go past Ellsworth
Drive and take the next left on Wayne Ave. (This is the second left and the
second light past Colesville Rd.). Park in the Wayne Avenue Garage. The garage
is in the first block and on the left. Eggspectation is in the shopping center
on Ellsworth Drive directly behind the Wayne Avenue garage. If you leave the
garage after 8pm you do not have to pay for parking at the pay machine when
you park. The garage exit gate is always opened after 8PM.
Metro: When leaving the Silver Spring Metro Train Station at Colesville Rd and East West Highway go north on Colesville Rd for 3 blocks. Turn right on Georgia Ave. Turn left on to Ellsworth Drive (the first left). Eggspectation is in the shopping center on your right.
Your Baltimore-Washington Section Officers for 2010:
Links to other local scientific organizations and conferences of interest:
Chemical
Society of Washington, CSW, Local Section of the American Chemical Society
Past Issues of the Baltimore-Washington Section Newsletter (including Historical Events in Chemistry for those months)
April/May Historical Events in Chemistry and Spectroscopy by Leopold May, Department of Chemistry, Catholic University
Go to
the National SAS Home Page