Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation

Tom is an environmental research scientist with a passion for understanding how humans impact our environment.  He studies how mercury pollution interacts with living organisms in freshwaters through to coastal areas.  Tom uses nuclear techniques (radioisotope tracers) to very precisely study how quickly mercury get into a living organism, where it goes within the tissues and then how quickly they are removed from the tissues if the source of pollution is removed or the animal moves to cleaner waters.  This helps us understand what kind of effect mercury will have on the organism so that we can better manage our precious aquatic ecosystems.  Tom is currently working with the offshore petroleum industry to assist in providing a scientific basis for their decommissioning planning.