UTILIZING STABLE ISOTOPIC MEASUREMENTS TO ELUCIDATE COMPLEX SOURCES AND FATES OF POLLUTANT CHEMICALS ON LAND AND AT SEA

Humankind's chemical legacy of industrialization has resulted in the long-term contamination of the Earth's environment. Many of these organic chemicals are resistant to degradation through chemical, biological and photolytic processes. As such, they persist in the environment, can be transported vast distances and eventually bioaccumulate in human and animal tissues. Only through developing an intimate understanding of the source of these compounds can their eventual remediation be realized.

Stable isotope analysis has the power to deliver unparalleled insight into the complex interactions of organic pollutants in the environment. It can elucidate the often complex sources and fates of pollutant chemicals on land and at sea, aiding remediation strategy and shaping waste and resource management policy for protection of the environment. Developing our understanding of these processes aids our stewardship of the natural world to insure that future generations enjoy the same wonders that we do today.

This presentation focuses on the improved technology that is currently available to accomplish measurements related to the transport and fate of these contaminants and how to better understand the use of light element bulk and compound-specific stable isotope analysis (d13C, d15N, dD) for this necessary purpose.