At UMass, the arsenic group studies the biogeochemical cycling of arsenic and the role of the many anthropogenic sources of arsenic, including arsenic-containing pesticides and herbicides, and the leaching from wood pressure-treated with chromated copper arsenate. Although this material has been voluntarily phased out, an enormous legacy remains.
The arsenic project has been in operation in middle school classrooms for four years, Students will be introduced to the relevant chemistry topics and conduct a group investigation of possible arsenic in a local park. In researching the distribution of arsenic, students will encounter the various arsenic-in-drinking water crises around the world. Later, students will work in small groups on an original environmental arsenic study on topics such as phytoremediation and the removal of arsenic from ground water by low-cost technologies. They may assess the extent to which arsenic from a pressure-treated structure has contaminated the environment in their own back-yard or in a public place in their community, thereby adding to our knowledge of the extent to which arsenic is mobilized from pressure-treated wood.
Measurements in the school will be made with Hach field test kits and supported by measurements made back on campus if needed.
