MSI Technical Seminars

Dr. Danny Reible, PhD, PE, DEE, NAE
Bettie Margaret Smith Chair of Environmental Health Engineering
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Monday, December 11, 2006, 4:00 PM, Visitors Center Auditorium

"Defining the Availability of Organic Contaminants in Sediments"

The definition of exposure and risk to contaminants in sediments depends upon access to those contaminants, the extent to which accessible contaminants are available and the extent to which contaminants accumulate in organisms of interest.  This presentation will focus on efforts to understand and quantify these processes through experiments and modeling.  Particular focus will be on the in situ assessment of the bioavailability of organic contaminants using solid phase microextraction, and the implications of dynamics of metal speciation for contaminant release. The potential for in-situ voltammetry to assess metal speciation will be discussed. The implications of these processes for the effective management of contaminated sediments will also be identified.