"If the public becomes more aware of the environmental dangers of
lead wheel weights and is given alternative wheel balancing choices then
there will be a decrease in lead entering the environment. It is
important that we make sure that the water we drink and the air we
breathe is free of lead." TEAM DEAD WEIGHT

Director Holdren, Secretary Duncan Honor Contest Winners

Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 6:48 pm by Phillip Larson

By Rick Weiss

OSTP Director John Holdren and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan underscored President Obama’s commitment to green technologies and science education at an Oct. 8 event at the Department of Education honoring this year’s winners of the Siemens “We Can Change” Challenge and the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Thousands of students participated in the two contests.

In the Siemens contest, teams of two to three students in sixth through eighth grade, under the mentorship of a teacher or adult supervisor, were asked to identify an environmental issue in their community; research the issue using scientific investigation; and create a replicable green solution using web-based curriculum tools. The winners—Justin Roth, Jathan Kron, and Brennan Nelson of West Branch, IA—with assistance from their mentor, Hector Ibarra, focused on the lead weights used to balance automobile wheels, which often end up in the environment causing toxic buildups of this heavy metal. In part as a result of the students’ work, state and federal regulators are now considering legislation and rules to reduce this form of pollution.

The winner of the Discovery/3M contest, Marina Dimitrov of Bozeman, MT, had to demonstrate science communication skills by producing a short video that described an innovative solution to a problem in everyday life and also had to complete a number of engineering projects through the creative use of a limited array of household materials.  Among the things she learned through that process, she told Dr. Holdren: “Duct tape is useful for a lot of things!”

Both contests focus on children in their young teens—an age when research indicates kids’ interest in science often begins to fade. They are designed to encourage students to explore scientific concepts and creatively communicate their findings.

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OSTP Director John Holdren and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with winner Marina Dimitrov and her parents, Detelinka and Alexander Dimitrov.

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OSTP Director John Holdren and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with winners Jathan Kron, Justin Roth, and Brennan Nelson.

 

 

Reference source: http://blog.ostp.gov/


           Science research team "Dead Weight" recognizes the 
need to protect the public from exposure to lead hazards. 
There are no federal regulatory controls governing use of lead 
wheel weights. Environmental health hazards associated with lead 
wheel weights are a preventable problem. People are exposed to 
lead fragments and dust when lead wheel weights fall from motor 
vehicles onto the nation's roadways and are then abraded and 
pulverized by traffic. Lead wheel weights on and alongside roadways 
can contribute to soil, surface and groundwater contamination and 
pose hazards to downstream aquatic life.
       Lead negatively affects every bodily system. While it is 
injurious to people of all ages, lead is especially harmful to 
fetuses,children, and adults of childbearing age. Effects of lead 
on a child's cognitive, behavioral, and developmental abilities may 
necessitate large expenditures of public funds for health care and 
special education. Irreversible damage to children and subsequent 
expenditures could be avoided if exposure to lead is reduced.

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