After learning about the 247 “superfund” clean-up sites contaminated with hazardous chemicals across Long Island, students in the Doshi STEM Program at Nassau BOCES decided to take action. The young scientists, which included Hicksville’s Harleen Anand and Adil Ansari, conducted testing for heavy metal contaminants in the local ecosystem including lead, arsenic and mercury. Students went out in the field to take coastal samples from Caumsett State Park, to compare with samples from a superfund site 10 miles away in Glen Cove. They prepared and tested the samples at Brookhaven National Laboratory, conducing x-ray fluorescence tests using the lab’s state-of-the-art Synchrotron Light Source. To present their findings, the students created scientific posters.
— From Nassau BOCES
