24.01.2011 at 17:15 - Inaugural lesson Prof. Janet Hering
Professor Janet Hering was appointed full professor of environmental chemistry at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering by the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology at its meeting on 18-19 May 2010.
In 2007 Janet Hering became the director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Henceforth she will divide her time equally between the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. At EPFL, she is affiliated to the Institute of Environmental Engineering (IIE).
Title: "Geochemical Perspectives on Water Quality"
Abstract: As a sustainable source of safe drinking water, groundwater has many advantages over surface water, most notable its natural protection from the pathogens that are a leading cause of child mortality in developing countries. As tragically illustrated in South and Southeast Asia, however, consumption of groundwater can also pose health risks due to exposure to geogenic contaminants. This presentation will examine the biogeochemical controls on groundwater quality, particularly the concentration of the geogenic contaminants arsenic and fluoride. The occurrence and mobility of geogenic contaminants will be discussed in terms of the composition of geological source materials and the biogeochemical processes by which geogenic contaminants are mobilized and sequestered.
Location: SG1