An interview with Dr. Gerry Reimer
1. Emma and Mireille: What is your job, Mr. Reimer? Explain a bit about it.
Dr. Gerry Reimer: I am a Chemical Consultant. I do tests on chemical products for regulation questions and laws for the government. People want to know the effect of a chemical product. I do research to find out if it is a product that is safe and if it can be imported to other countries.
2. Emma and Mireille: What made you decide to be a chemist?
Dr. Gerry Reimer: Well, I started to take courses in chemistry when I was in high school and in university. I started to help teachers in the laboratory. In high school, my best marks were always in chemistry.
3. Emma and Mireille: Why do Styrofoam cups pollute the environment?
Dr. Gerry Reimer: The problem is that Styrofoam does not dissolve and the garbage ends up in land fills. Most natural products, like vegetables, dissolve, but artificial products such as Styrofoam cups stay for a long time in the land fills. They're not toxic, but they don't break down. Pain, for example, can go into water and cause a lot of pollution. Styrofoam is not as bad for water.
4. Emma and Mireille: What is Styrofoam made of?
Dr. Gerry Reimer: Styrofoam is made of polystyrene. Each corner of the molecule is a carbon. Each top carbon is attached to two helium's. Each carbon at the bottom is attached to one helium. In polystyrene there is no oxygen.
5. Emma and Mireille: What could replace Styrofoam?
Dr. Gerry Reimer: Polymers that are made of sugar of water molecules.
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