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Phil Monson Chat Session
Moderator: Hello students! Our chat session with Phil Monson
will begin in a few minutes. Welcome Phil!
Phil Monson: Hi everyone
Moderator: Ok, let's chat! Everyone please welcome Phil Monson
from the Minnesota Environmental Protection Agency. Phil, why don't you
tell us a little about your job!
Phil Monson: Well, I'm the Environmental Education Coordinator
a the U.S. EPA lab in Duluth, MN. My job is to relate the research that
goes on here at the lab to all of you. Excuse my spelling
Moderator: Katie S. from Minneapolis asks,"What's the worst pollutant
in Lake Superior?"
Phil Monson: Hi katie. A number of pollutants are present in the
lake. Fortunatley, none of them are wide spread or in largeamounts. However,
some kinds, like Mercury, are very toxic and can load up (accumulate)
in animals and cause problems.
Moderator: Hey Phil.
What kinds of tests do you do at the lab? Matt from Grand Blanc
Phil Monson: hi Matt. We do research on freshwater issues. Issues
like frog malformations (deformed frogs) to looking at how people influence
the landscape and the watershed around it.
Moderator: Jeff from Hutchinson asks, "How do you keep all the
toxic stuff off you when you are studying it?"
Phil Monson: Well Jeff, When we handle any kind of chemical we
need to follow strict health and safety rules like wearing gloves, safety
glasses and lab coats.
Moderator: Do you live on Lake Superior? What's it like? From Katie S.
Phil Monson: I live in Duluth, which is right on the north shore
of the lake. The EPA lab is futher up the shore, and I can look out over
the lake and see the far shore (about 25 miles away) in northern Wisconsin.
Lake Superior is clear, cold (about 40 degrees F.) and huge!
Moderator: Jeff now wants to know, "What is the grossest deformed
frog you have ever seen?"
Phil Monson: I've seen some with extra legs and missing legs that's
about all.
Moderator: Mandy B. from Grand Blanc wants to know, "Do you mostly
work in the lab or outdoors?"
Phil Monson: I've seen some with extra legs and missing legs that's
about all.
Phil Monson: Sorry about that I'll try again
Phil Monson: I'll speak for the whole lab. The researchers here
do work both outdoors (or in the "field") and in the lab. Oftenthe research
gets samples from the field that need to be analyzed in the lab with a
certain kind of instrument. A lot of computer work and writing is done
by all researchers as well.
Moderator: Mimi from Minneapolis wants to know, "What is your favorite
aquatic insect?"
Moderator: Jason from Milaca is wondering, "I have read that there
is a good possibility that frog deformation could be the result of UV
damage to frogs early in their development stages. In your experience,
do you think that UV damage is a plausable explanation, and if so, do
you think that this is at all related to the greenhouse effect?"
Phil Monson: I think Dragonflies because they are a very old group
of insects (older than the dinosaurs), they can be found in a lot of different
places (stream, lakes, ponds), and they eat a lot of mosquitos.
Phil Monson: Jason, UV light (part of sunlight) is one of at least
4-5 hypothesized causes of frog malformations. Another of these is habitat
change, which is part of the concern with the greenhouse effect. Probably
no one cause is to blame, and more likely a combination of causes is responsible.
Moderator: Mandy B. was wondering how Lake Michigan is different
from Lake Superior.
Phil Monson: Probably the two biggest differences is that Lake
Superior is larger, and has fewer people living around it.
Moderator: Jeff wants to know, "does polluted water taste different
than clean water?"
Phil Monson: Some kinds of pollution you really can taste and smell
though these pollutants (like phenol) have been controlled pretty well.
Most water pollutants can't sensed by us (see, smell, taste), but it doesn't
mean they aren't present.
Moderator: Ms. Wilkenson from Cloquet was wondering, "How do pollutants
get into the water in the first place?"
Moderator: Mimi asked, "have you ever been on a boat on Lake Superior?"
Phil Monson: Hi. Some pollutants got in the water by the things
that people did and made in past years, and discharged the leftovers into
a water body. Others find there way by running off the land (non-point
sources) like lawn fertilizers and pesticides, and still others can move
around through the air and get into the water with precipitation. There
are other ways as well, but these are important.
Phil Monson: Mimi, Yes, I've been out on Lake Superior on the labs
Research Vessel (se our web page www.epa.gov/med) for a picture, and I've
been out sailing a couple of times. I've scuba diver under the lake too.
Moderator: Ms. Wilkenson wants to know, "What can we do to stop
point and non-point source pollution."
Phil Monson: Well, poimnt sources, like those dischared through
a factory pipe are regulated for toxic chemicals. The non-point sources
(like lawn chemicals and soil erosion) are less easy to control, because
they come from many places, and are widley available. Probably the best
way to control non-point sources of pollution is to educate people about
them. There are a lot of good sources of information (Minn. Pollution
Control Agency for example) to use.
Moderator: Okay, Last question. Katie S. wants to know, "how did
you get a job at the EPA." In other words, what did you study in school?
Phil Monson: Katie, I studied Biology as an undergraduate and Entomology
(insects) for a Master's degree. Probably one of the best investments
has been to learn to speak and write (even thought this chat has been
full of mispellings) well. Good luck and thanks.
Moderator: Hey, great chat session everybody! Thanks for participating.
Also, a big thanks to Phil Monson for answering all of our questions!
I hope you can join us for our next Bell LIVE! chat session which will
be with Doug Jensen. It will be tomorrow, Wednesday the 4th from 10:00
am until 11:00 am. Good bye!
Phil Monson: logs off
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Last modified on May 23, 2002.