Karen Wetterhahn

Karen weather Hahn ( born October 16, 1948 † June 8, 1997 ) was an American chemist and professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover (New Hampshire). Your area of ​​expertise was the toxicity of metals, in which she promoted the cooperation between biologists, chemists, environmental scientists, engineers and medical professionals.

As she examined the disease-causing effects of molecules at the cellular level, they suffered on 14 August 1996 at the laboratory of an industrial accident in which dimethyl diffused through her ​​latex gloves within a few seconds and was absorbed by the skin. Months later, in January 1997 occurred dizziness and headache. The concentration of mercury in their blood was eighty times the toxic threshold. Despite chelation therapy she fell into a coma and died on June 8, 1997 from acute mercury poisoning.

Due to this event, the use of dimethyl mercury as a standard in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were adjusted and updated safety data sheets.

The Dartmouth College founded on the death of Karen weathercock weathercock Karen Memorial Award, which is awarded annually since 1998 to young scientists.