Dartmouth College researchers said a volatile form of osmium is generated during platinum refinement and also during the normal operation of cars. The osmium is then dispersed globally through the atmosphere.
"It's interesting, maybe ironic, that we stopped adding lead to gasoline in the 70s so that catalytic converters could be introduced to remove smog from car exhaust," said Associate Professor Mukul Sharma, who led the study. "Now we learn that using platinum in the converters is responsible for an increase in osmium. Fortunately, unlike lead, the concentration of osmium in water is extremely small and may not adversely affect biology."
The research conducted by Sharma, doctoral student Cynthia Chen and Peter Sedwick appears in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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