Wetterhahn, Karen

Not long ago I tracked down some research papers authored by Karen Wetterhahn, and I was amazed by their diversity. Wetterhahn, the first female professor of chemistry ever hired at Dartmouth, was interested in fields ranging from biochemistry to toxicology. She was an expert on the cancer-causing potential of chromium, and, like numerous chemists before her, she was fascinated with the chemistry of mercury and its compounds. 

I never knew Professor Wetterhahn, but her death moved me deeply. Primarily, of course, what happened to her was a personal disaster for her and her family. But it was also a demonstration of the power of the scientific spirit — that willingness to take calculated risks for the benefit of others. In a sense Karen Wetterhahn died in the line of duty, in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. She will be missed and remembered. 

The extreme toxicity of dimethylmercury was demonstrated tragically by the 1997 death of Professor Karen Wetterhahn of Dartmouth College. Dr. Wetterhahn was exposed to dimethylmercury from an accidental spill of about two drops of this liquid onto the latex rubber gloves she was wearing for protection. The lipid-soluble compound permeates latex and skin, and Dr. Wetterhahn died less than a year later from neurotoxic effects to the brain. 

Tragic Effects of Mercury Poisoning In a tragic irony, a scientist who was helping to improve the environment died as a result of her efforts. In 1997, Dartmouth College chemistry professor Karen Wetterhahn died of mercury poisoning. Less than a year earlier, she had been experimenting with dimethyl mercury when she spilled a tiny amount on her hands. Dimethyl mercury is one of the most toxic of mercury compounds. 

In 1997, Karen Wetterhahn, an internationally renowned researcher of the carcinogenic effects of... 

In view of the widely varying toxicities of these species and, in particular, the unexpectedly huge toxicity of dimethylmercury, for which we have only one reported human death (Professor Karen Wetterhahn of Dartmouth College, who died as a result of a single and very limited exposure to dimethylmercury in 1997), the significance of these trace concentrations of species must be considered when the health of workers who will be exposed to these compounds is evaluated. 

You don t need to be a physician or have extensive medical knowledge to understand what happened to Karen Wetterhahn s brain as a result of this accident. Her brain was destroyed. 

Russell Hughes, a colleague of Karen Wetterhahn (Incident 7.2.2.1) ... 

Karen Wetterhahn was an internationally respected Professor of Chemistry in New ffampshire in the 1990s (actually the Albert Bradley Third Century Professor in the Sciences at Dartmouth College). She was an expert researcher in the field of the effects of heavy metals on living systems, especially in their role in causing cancer. By an exquisite irony, she herself became a victim of a heavy-metal poison. 

After the death of Karen Wetterhahn, tests showed that dimethyl mercury could go through ordinary laboratory rubber gloves within seconds anyone using dimethylmercury (which itself is severely discouraged) must now wear highly resistant laminated gloves underneath a pair of heavy-duty gloves. The scientists and doctors who treated Karen Wetterhahn concluded ... 

Dartmouth Toxic metals Tribute to Karen Wetterhahn - http // www.dartmouth.edu/- toxmetal/about/tribute-to-karen-wetterhahn.html... 

It is reported that in the USA, the Occupational Safety Health Administration has cited Dartmouth College for failing to warn its laboratory researchers about the limitations of latex gloves and for other safety violations. This follows the tragic death of Professor Karen Wetterhahn, who died after spilling dimethyl mercury on her gloves at the college. 

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