Thames Valley

• How many eggs can a chicken lay in a year?
• What radioactive gas may lurk under your floorboards?
• What is the link between the Army's chemical warfare protection suits and water treatment?
• What percentage of a car will have to be recycled in a couple of years' time?   

The answers to all these questions could be found at Chemistry at Work events held recently in the Thames Valley area. *

Five Chemistry at Work events took place in the Thames Valley area in late June and early July, all based in schools - at Oxford, Kidlington, Chipping Norton, Didcot and Henley. All were organised by Thames Valley Local Section member Phil Smith, to whom many thanks are due for all his hard work.

Phil arranged a large and varied range of presentations including ones from the Army, Didcot Power Station, Bayer, Thames Water, The National Radiological Protection Board and The Spectrum Road show, not to mention Phil himself with his spectacular show about the chemistry of bubbles.

Topics discussed included diabetes, animal nutrition, the materials used in cycle helmets, lasers and many, many more.

The recent innovation of taking Chemistry at Work into schools proved to be successful and allowed whole year groups from the schools (in one case, 240 students) to attend the event.

* 

• A chicken can lay up to 280 eggs per year.
• Radon gas may be found under floorboards and in cellars in some areas of the country.
• Activated carbon is used both in chemical warfare protection suits and for water treatment.
• Over 90% of a car will have to be recycled.