Time: 9:30 am-11:30 am on June 17^th 2009 (Wednesday)

Location: Rm 418N at Yingjie Communication Center

Topic:  Soil Organic Contamination Intensities are not Measured by the Concentrations in Whole Soils

Speaker: Professor Cary T. Chiou (carychio@mail.ncku.edu.tw)

 

Concentrations of given organic contaminants in common productive (i.e., life-supporting) soils based on the total soil mass give a misleading account of the actual contamination effects. This is attributed to the fact that productive soils are essentially water-saturated, with the result that the soil uptake of organic compounds occurs principally by partition into the soil organic matter (SOM). It is demonstrated that the soil contamination intensity of a compound is governed by the concentration in the SOM (C_om), not by the concentration in whole soil (C_s).  The supporting experimental data consist of the levels and toxicities of many organochlorine pesticides in soils of widely differing SOM contents and the related levels in in-situ crops. This SOM-based contamination index is timely needed for assessing the contamination effects of food crops grown in different soils and for establishing a dependable priority ranking for intended remediation of numerous contamination sites.

 

Name:  Cary T. Chiou (carychio@mail.ncku.edu.tw)

Tel:  (+886)-235-3710; Fax: (+886)-275-2790                                          

Education: 

B.S.E.  Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, 1965    

M.S.   Physical/Surface Chemistry, Kent State University, 1970

Ph.D.   Physical/Surface Chemistry, Kent State University, 1973

Postdoctoral   Molecular Beam Kinetics, Brown University, 1974    

Postdoctoral   Adsorption of Toxic Vapors on Activated Carbon, Univ. of Kentucky, 1975     

Uptake and distribution of persistent organic pollutants: (i) sorption by soils/sediments and natural solids in relation to soil/solid composition and water content; (ii) bioconcentration of organic compounds from water into fish and aquatic organisms; (iii) uptake by plants/crops of pesticides and pollutants from soils and water (iv) bioavailability of organic contaminants in soil; and (v) interactions of organic pollutants with dissolved organic matter of natural and anthropogenic origins in water

Highly Cited Researcher in both Engineering and Ecology/Environment

Outstanding Publication Award, Assoc. Environ. Eng. & Sci. Professors. (AEESP), 1999

Author of one of 10 High-Impact Papers in Environmental Science & Technology (surveyed in 2001)

University Chair Professor, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan (2007-date)

Project Chief in “Environmental Dynamics of Organic Chemicals”, U.S. Geological Survey, National Research Program, Denver, Colorado (1983-2006)  

Associate Professor (1981-1983); Assistant Professor (1976-1981): Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

Adjunct Professor:

 Nanjing University (1990-date), Zhejiang University (1997-date), and Wuhan University (2001-2003)

UNDP Environ. Science Lecturer at Nanjing University, P.R. China (1983)

Environ. Science Lecturer, National Science Council, Taiwan (1987)

Chiou, C.T., 2002, Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems, John Wiley, New York (257 pages)

Chiou, C.T., Peters, L.J., and Freed. V.H., 1979, A physical concept of soil-water equilibria for nonionic organic compounds: Science, v. 205, p. 831-832.

Chiou, C.T., Porter, P.E. and Schmedding, D.W., 1983, Partition equilibria of nonionic organic compounds between soil organic matter and water: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 17, p. 227-231.

Chiou, C.T., Sheng, G., and Manes, M., 2001, A partition-limited model for the plant uptake of organic contaminants from soil and water: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 35, p. 1437-1444.