Environmental forensics

Title:

Publication Information:

Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2008

Physical Description:

vii, 175 p. : ill., maps (some col.) ; 24 cm.

ISBN:

9780854049578

Subject Term:

Environmental forensics

Added Author:

Hester, R. E., (Ronald E.)

Harrison, Roy M., 1948-

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Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010079729	TD193.4 E58 2008	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010176318	TD193.4 E58 2008	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown

'Environmental forensics' is a combination of analytical and environmental chemistry, which is useful in the court room context. It therefore involves field analytical studies and both data interpretation and modelling connected with the attribution of pollution events to their causes. Recent decades have seen a burgeoning of legislation designed to protect the environment and, as the costs of environmental damage and clean-up are considerable, not only are there prosecutions by regulatory agencies, but the courts are also used as a means of adjudication of civil damage claims relating to environmental causes or environmental degradation. As a result is the increasing number of prosecutions of companies who have breached regulations for environmental protection and in civil claims relating to harm caused by excessive pollutant releases to the environment. Such cases can become extremely protracted as expert witnesses provide their sometimes conflicting interpretations of environmental measurement data and their meaning. It is in this context that environmental forensics is developing as a specialism, leading to greater formalisation of investigative methods which should lead to more definitive findings and less scope for experts to disagree. Now a significant subject in its own right, at least one journal devoted to the field and a number of degree courses have sprung up. As a result of the topicality and rapid growth of the subject area, is the publication of this book - the 26th volume in the highly acclaimed Issues in Environmental Science and Technology Series. This volume contains authoritative articles by a number of the leading practitioners across the globe in the environmental forensics field and aims to cover some of the main techniques and areas to which environmental forensics are being applied. The content is comprehensive and describes a number of the key areas within environmental forensics - topics covered by the authors include: - Source identification issues - Microbial techniques - Metal contamination and methods of assigning liability - The use of isotopes to determine sources and their applications - Molecular biological methods - Hydrocarbon fingerprinting techniques - Oil chemistry and key compound identification - The emerging role of environmental forensics in groundwater pollution Additionally, the volume considers specific pollutants and long-lived pollutants of groundwater such as halocarbons which have presented particular problems and which are described in some depth, as well as the way in which chemical degradation processes can lead to compositional changes which provide valuable information. The book provides a comprehensive overview of many of the key areas of environmental forensics written by some of the leading experts in the field. It will be both of specialist use to those seeking expert insights into the field and its capabilities as well as of more general interest to those involved in both environmental analytical science and environmental law.

Author Notes

Ronald E Hester is at the University of York, UK Roy M Harrison OBE is at the University of Birmingham, UK

Reviews 1

Choice Review

Environmental forensics is an area that is unknown to most scientists. It is a combination of analytical and environmental chemistry used to investigate what is in the environment and where it came from. The data generated can then be used to prosecute those who have violated laws that protect the environment. In this volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology, articles cover the major topics and techniques in the field of environmental forensics. Written by some of the leading experts in the field, chapters cover various topics including source identification, microbial techniques, stable isotope analyses, petroleum fingerprinting techniques, tracking chlorinated solvents, and using environmental forensics to track groundwater pollution. This book opened this reviewer's eyes to what the field of environmental forensics is and what it can do for society. The volume will be useful for specialists in this area who may be interested in what experts say about these topics. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections; general readers. S. S. Mason Mount Union College

Environmental Forensics and the Importance of Source IdentificationStephen M. Mudge
1 Introduction	p. 1
2 The Legislative Framework for Environmental Forensics	p. 1
2.1 National Legislation	p. 1
2.2 Regional Legislation	p. 4
2.3 US Legislation	p. 5
3 Source Identification	p. 6
3.1 Illegal Discharges	p. 8
3.2 Fugitive Emissions or Discharge	p. 9
3.3 Deliberate 'Fly-tipping'	p. 9
3.4 Historical Discharges	p. 9
3.5 Altered Environmental Processes	p. 9
4 Tools for Source Apportionment	p. 10
4.1 Chemical Approaches	p. 10
4.2 Biological Apporaches	p. 12
5 Summary	p. 14
References	p. 14
Microbial Techniques for Environmental ForensicsAndrew S. Ball and Jules N. Pretty and Rakhi Mahmud
1 Introduction	p. 17
2 Traditional Microbial Forensics	p. 17
2.1 Community-level Physiological Profiling	p. 18
2.2 Phospholipid Fatty Acid Profiling	p. 19
3 Emerging Microbial Analyses	p. 19
3.1 Microbial Analysis and Environmental Forensics	p. 19
3.2 The Basis of Molecular Microbial Forensic Techniques	p. 20
3.3 Ribosomes	p. 21
3.4 Ribosomal RNA and Taxonomy	p. 22
3.5 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)	p. 22
4 PCR-based DNA Fingerprinting Techniques	p. 25
4.1 Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis and Its Derivatives	p. 25
4.2 Single-stranded Conformation Polymorphism Analysis (SSCP)	p. 28
4.3 Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP)	p. 29
5 Limitations of PCR-based Methodologies	p. 31
6 Forensic Interpretation of Profiles	p. 31
7 Conclusions	p. 33
References	p. 33
Spatial Considerations of Stable Isotope Analyses in Environmental ForensicsJames R. Ehleringer and Thure E. Cerling and Jason B. West and David W. Podlesak and Lesley A. Chesson and Gabriel J. Bowen
1 A Background in Stable Isotopes	p. 38
1.1 Stable Isotopes - a Primer	p. 38
1.2 Isotope Ratio Composition is Presented in Delta Notation	p. 38
1.3 Gas Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer	p. 39
2 The Stable Isotopes of Water	p. 40
2.1 The Meteoric Water Line	p. 40
2.2 Isotopes of Water on a Spatial Scale	p. 40
3 Spatial Forensic Applications Based on H and O Isotopes	p. 42
3.1 Cotton as an Example of Plant Sourcing	p. 42
3.2 Wine as an Example of Food Sourcing	p. 44
3.3 Keratin as an Example of Animal Sourcing	p. 44
4 Opportunities to Examine C and N Isotopes on a Spatial Basis	p. 47
4.1 The Imprint of Photosynthetic Pathways	p. 47
4.2 Cocaine Origins are Reflected in C and N Isotopes	p. 49
References	p. 50
Diagnostic Compounds for Fingerprinting Petroleum in the EnvironmentScott A. Stout and Zhendi Wang
1 Introduction	p. 54
1.1 Petroleum Genesis, Refining, Weathering and Mixing	p. 55
1.2 The Philosophy of Chemical Fingerprinting	p. 57
2 Diagnostic Compounds	p. 60
2.1 Trimethylpentanes	p. 60
2.2 Gasoline Additives	p. 61
2.3 Diamondoids	p. 65
2.4 Acyclic Alkanes	p. 65
2.5 Sesquiterpanes	p. 69
2.6 n-Alkylcyclohexanes	p. 70
2.7 Diterpenoids	p. 73
2.8 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons	p. 73
2.9 Triterpenoids	p. 79
2.10 Steroids	p. 91
3 Conclusions	p. 96
References	p. 97
Perchlorate - Is Nature the Main Manufacturer?Ioana G. Petrisor and James T. Wells
1 Introduction	p. 105
1.1 Changing Perspectives	p. 105
1.2 The Perchlorate Legacy - Emergence of a Long-used Contaminant	p. 106
1.3 Keys to Forensic Investigations	p. 107
2 Environmental Forensic Investigation of Perchlorate	p. 108
2.1 Perchlorate - Unique Chemical	p. 108
2.2 Sources of Perchlorate	p. 110
2.3 Tracking Perchlorate in the Environment	p. 119
3 Conclusions	p. 127
References	p. 127
Tracking Chlorinated Solvents in the EnvironmentIoana G. Petrisor and James T. Wells
1 Introduction - The Environmental Legacy	p. 130
2 The State of Knowledge	p. 132
3 Sources and Uses	p. 132
4 Traits and Environmental Behavior	p. 133
5 Significance of Environmental Forensics for Site Remediation	p. 137
6 Forensic Techniques for Tracking the Source and Age of Chlorinated Solvents	p. 137
6.1 Chemical Fingerprinting	p. 138
6.2 Isotopic Fingerprinting	p. 148
6.3 Dendroecology	p. 150
7 Conclusions and Perspectives	p. 151
References	p. 151
Groundwater Pollution: The Emerging Role of Environmental ForensicsStanley Feenstra and Michael O. Rivett
1 Introduction	p. 153
2 The Fundamental Questions	p. 154
3 Subsurface Forensic Methods	p. 156
3.1 Site History	p. 156
3.2 Site Testing	p. 157
3.3 Historical Knowledge of Subsurface Contamination	p. 162
4 Examples of Some Important and Challenging Specific Questions	p. 162
4.1 What Was the Chemical Material That Was Released?	p. 162
4.2 Does the Groundwater Plume Track Back to the Releases or Source Zones?	p. 166
4.3 Can the Contaminants be Traced Back to the Source Zone?	p. 167
5 Concluding Discussion	p. 170
References	p. 171
Subject Index	p. 173

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