Many of the environmental problems facing the world today involve inorganic contaminants (heavy metals, acid rain, acid mine drainage, agricultural pollutants). Undergraduate instruction in environmental science must provide a means for investigating these problems. The use of an automated ion analyzer in environmental laboratory courses and in student research projects enables students to pursue questions that they were unable to investigate with previous analytical techniques. The LACHAT flow injection automated ion analyzer has the capability to analyze samples from different media for both cations and anions, and is expandable to meet the needs of student research interests. The equipment is widely used in the private and public sectors and provides students with important training on equipment they will likely encounter upon graduation. In addition, the quantity and quality of student research projects is improving, with timely studies of environmental problems appropriate to the college setting in Pennsylvania. The students have access to agriculturally and industrially impacted streams, lakes receiving acidic deposition and excess nutrient loading, and acidic mine drainage sites. The increase in research opportunities for students can help them in their postgraduation plans, whether they be in environmentally related employment, or in graduate programs.
