Queen Anne Science Café: Using a Volunteer-Based Sampling Network to Evaluate Cooking Spices and Chemicals in Puget Sound
T.S. McHughs
21 Mercer Street
Seattle, WA 98109
KCTS 9, the Pacific Science Center and Science on Tap present monthly discussions from the world of science in a laid back, social way at T.S. McHughs. Grab a beverage and pull up a stool, no science background required. This is a free lecture. Seating is limited, so it's recommended to arrive early.
This months speaker is Rick Keil, from the School of Oceanography, University of Washington.
The common cooking spices vanilla, cinnamon and thyme enter Puget Sound predominately through treated wastewater and their delivery typically follows within a day after major US holidays. Cooking spices concentrations in Puget Sound are higher than in less urbanized waterways, and ethyl-vanillin, a synthetic compound found in artificial vanilla, is the most abundant spice in Puget Sound. Cinnamon fluxes increase immediately follow holidays which traditionally center around food or candy (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day). Thyme, while found in many consumer products and foods, is only delivered to, and found in, Puget Sound immediately following Thanksgiving. We also analyze for a series of emerging pollutants found in ‘green’ products. Our data are collected by a volunteer network of students and citizens (www.soundcitizen.org). SoundCitizen plays an important role by providing both fun and serious examples of our impact on the environment, and concrete ideas about "what you can do".
Watch videos from past Queen Anne Science Cafes.
