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2015 Autumn | Natural Science & Restoration, Policy & Regulation

Solutions to Mercury Contamination in Lakes and Reservoirs

Student(s):

Aaron Elefson

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Linda Meyer

Partner(s):

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10

Faculty advisor(s):

Tim Billo, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

Mercury contamination in freshwater systems continues to be a widespread issue. Mercury’s persistence in the environment makes treatment difficult, prompting the development of new innovative solutions to this problem. I was tasked by the EPA to write an intensive literature review on mercury remediation techniques, to organize and graphically analyze mercury contaminated reservoir data, and to make recommendations based on my findings. I determined that the success of a treatment is largely dependent on understanding a site’s characteristics. A process to assess a site’s traits that are relevant to mercury remediation should be developed in order to streamline treatment efforts.