September 15,
1997<br>------------------------------------------------------------------------\
--------<br><br><br>A death in the name of science <br>By Helen
O'Neill <br><br>ASSOCIATED PRESS <br><br>It was just a
drop of liquid, just a tiny glistening drop. It glided
over her glove like a jewel. <br><br>New Hampshire
scientist Karen Wetterhahn knew the risks: The bad stuff
kills if you get too close. So she took all precautions
while working with mercury in her Dartmouth College lab
- wearing protective gloves and eye goggles,
standing under a ventilated hood that sucks up chemical
fumes. <br><br>On that sunny day in August 1996 when she
accidentally spilled a drop, she thought nothing of it. She
washed her hands, cleaned her instruments and went home.
<br><br>Months later, when she first began feeling ill, friends
thought she had caught a stomach bug on her trip to
Malaysia. It wasn't until she started bumping into doors
that her husband, Leon Webb, began to worry. Karen,
always so focused, always so sure of her next step, was
suddenly falling down as if she were drunk. <br><br>In 15
years together, she had never been sick, never stopped
working, never complained. Leon was stunned when she
called one day for a ride home from work. <br><br>Over
lunch a few days later, Karen confided to her best
friend, Cathy Johnson, that she hadn't felt right for
some time. Words seemed to be getting stuck in her
throat. Her hands tingled. It felt like her whole body
was moving in slow motion. <br><br>``Karen,'' Johnson
said as she drove her back to the college, ``we've got
to get you to the hospital.'' <br><br>``After
work,'' Karen promised, walking unsteadily into the Burke
chemistry building for what would be the last time.
<br><br>That night, Jan. 20, Leon drove her to the emergency
room. By the weekend, Karen couldn't walk, her speech
was slurred and her hands trembled. : It seemed
impossible to believe that anything could be wrong with
Karen Wetterhahn, one of those quietly impressive
individuals whose lives seemed charmed from the start.
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