Chemistry Majors Presented Research to Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition
Posted on Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Nine Westminster College chemistry and biochemistry majors presented results from a service-learning project at a monthly meeting of the Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition (SRWC) Nov. 12 at Jennings Environmental Education Center.
Students collaborated with the non-profit SRWC to conduct field and laboratory analysis of the water at a passive treatment system near Eau Claire in Venango Township. This passive system treats water that has been contaminated by run-off from an abandoned surface coal mine.
The student results confirmed the passive treatment system is functioning well by raising the pH of the water to neutral and by precipitating out the metal contaminants of iron, aluminum, and manganese.
The testing and analysis were conducted under the supervision of Dr. Helen Boylan, Westminster associate professor of chemistry and a 1995 Westminster graduate.
"As a service-learning project, the students learned about the environmental chemistry of abandoned mine drainage and how to use standard methods of analysis to test various water quality parameters," Boylan said. "As a service, the students supplied lab-quality data to the non-profit watershed coalition group to help SRWC ensure their system is still functioning."
Contact Boylan at (724) 946-6293 or e-mail boylanhm@westminster.edu for more information.
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