Thank you to all of you who have responsed to this project. So far, l have yet to receive any "complain" from authority figures, mild or otherwise. Nevertheless, as we all can appreciate, the problem out there is not mild but very serious. My recent trip to Australia helped me to meet some interesting people including an invitation to Barthurst by Lyn Maciver, dealing with communicating environmental issues. l also met up with Dr Danny Wong from Macquarie Uni (Sydney) and we talk at length about the uses of polypyrrole, a conducting polymer whose unique properties effectively removes toxic metal solutions. While in Australia, l read an interesting article in the "Weekend Australian -Nov 30, pg 44" by Patricia Germani with the title " Sunlight, air release fatal arsenic from toxic water ". It follows that Australian scientists of the Co-operative Research Centre for Waste Management and Pollution Control use sunlight and air to remove the contaminant. Project leader Dr Ging Khoe from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) said. " We use sunlight (or ultraviolet light) to increase the rate of natural change from the highly poisonous version of arsenic known as arsenic (III) into less harmful arsenic (V) by 10,000 times. " A recent demonstration funded by the USEPA took place at an abandoned mining town in Montana, results will be out by Jan 1997. l also met up with Robert Niven from Uni NSW in Sydney who gave me some ideas about Mercury remediation. (for more info see ideas/people)Robert is working on "Upflow Washing by in-situ gas-liquid-solid fluidisation for organic and metal remediation". l have also received several interesting comments from Sean Foley (who contributed to the Indonesia article-the main theme for this update) and Mary Lou Maxson who wrote back to insist proper recognition be given to Edwin Dobb article that was in the most recent October 1996 Harpers Magazine. Mary also mentioned that while crusing with her husband between Hawaii and Tahiti in September, visiting uninhabited islands, she was aghast at what had washed up on the shores of these islands, thousands of miles from civilization. There are many many more people who have invested time to give me their precious comments. Personally as a non-scientist, l am getting the fast track learning from all those that l met. l hope you will have the patience with me, although, if l may add that our planet may not afford my poor efforts to date. Thank you and take care, until we met again in 1997, have a very happy Christmas and New Year to all out there.

Yours Sincerely,

Chris Kwan

25/12/96 HOMEPAGE