Environmental toxicologist Roman Lanno's new seminar Autumn Quarter uses the BP oil spill as a timely case study to introduce students to the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA).

Lanno wants this to be a forum for expressing questions, concerns, and opinions, as well as an attempt to explore possible answers. "This risk-assessment format will be a useful tool to help sort out fact from fiction and facilitate presentations and discussions on the toxicological, environmental, sociological, economic, and political impacts of the oil spill," Lanno said.

Lanno who had the idea for this course while on sabbatical in Portugal had little time to get it approved and listed for Autumn, but felt an urgent need to do so.

Lanno sees this as just the tip of the iceberg in terms of possibilities for further, on-going investigations. "The effects of this are going to be with us for a long time." He hopes to expand this inquiry in a broader format Winter Quarter by engaging other faculty members across the Arts and Sciences.

"It would be great to work with faculty in diverse disciplines willing to present lectures on a variety of topics in their areas of expertise affected by the spill. I think this would be an incredible learning experience for our students, a way to maximize the richness of expert resources available, and help increase interdisciplinary partnerships in the College of Arts and Sciences."

The Autumn Quarter 2010; BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Environmental Risk Assessment; EEOB 881.04 (Course # - 27821); 2 Credit hours, Aronoff Lab 104, Thursday 9:30-11:18, is limited to 20. For more detailed information, please contact course instructor Dr. Roman Lanno, lanno.1@osu.edu Phone: 292-4943