Environmental chemistry

{{Short description|Scientific study}} [[File:FI-Raahe-20140609 183727.jpg|alt=White bags filled with contaminated stones line the shore near an industrial oil spill in Raahe, Finland|thumb|White bags filled with contaminated stones line the shore near an industrial oil spill in Raahe, Finland]] '''Environmental chemistry''' is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source. It can be defined as the study of the sources, reactions, transport, effects, and fates of chemical species in the air, soil, and water environments; and the effect of human activity and biological activity on these. Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary science that includes atmospheric, aquatic and soil chemistry, as well as heavily relying on analytical chemistry and being related to environmental and other areas of science.

Environmental chemistry involves first understanding how the uncontaminated environment works, which chemicals in what concentrations are present naturally, and with what effects. Without this it would be impossible to accurately study the effects humans have on the environment through the release of chemicals.

Environmental chemists draw traditional chemical concepts as well as sampling and analytical techniques.<ref name="Williams">Williams, Ian. ''Environmental Chemistry, A Modular Approach''. Wiley. 2001. {{ISBN|0-471-48942-5}}</ref>

==Contaminant== A contaminant is a substance present in nature at a level higher than fixed levels or that would not otherwise be there.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.buzzardsbay.org/glossary.htm |title=Glossary to the Buzzards Bay Watershed Management Plan |access-date=2006-03-23 |archive-date=2016-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009154918/http://www.buzzardsbay.org/glossary.htm }}</ref><ref>American Meteorological Society. [http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/browse?s=c&p=84 Glossary of Meteorology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920093105/http://amsglossary.allenpress.com/glossary/browse?s=c&p=84 |date=2011-09-20 }}</ref> This may be due to human activity and bioactivity. The term contaminant is often used interchangeably with ''pollutant'', which is a substance that detrimentally impacts the surrounding environment.<ref>North Carolina State University. Department of Soil Science. [http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/BMPs/glossary.html "Glossary."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140918194235/http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/publications/BMPs/glossary.html |date=2014-09-18 }}</ref><ref>Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE). New York, NY. [http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/dictionary/ Sustainable Table: Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824124652/http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/dictionary/ |date=2012-08-24 }}</ref> While a contaminant is sometimes a substance in the environment as a result of human activity, but without harmful effects, it sometimes the case that toxic or harmful effects from contamination only become apparent at a later date.<ref name="harrison">Harrison, R.M (edited by). ''Understanding Our Environment, An Introduction to Environmental Chemistry and Pollution, Third Edition''. Royal Society of Chemistry. 1999. {{ISBN|0-85404-584-8}}</ref>

The "medium" such as soil or organism such as fish affected by the pollutant or contaminant is called a ''receptor'', whilst a ''sink'' is a chemical medium or species that retains and interacts with the pollutant such as carbon sink and its effects by microbes.

==Environmental indicators==

{{Main|Freshwater environmental quality parameters}} Chemical measures of water quality include dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, nutrients (nitrates and phosphorus), heavy metals, soil chemicals (including copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and mercury), and pesticides.

==Applications== Environmental chemistry often detect and identify the nature and source of pollutants. These pollutants can include: *Heavy metal contamination of land by industry. These can then be transported into water bodies and be taken up by living organisms such as animals and plants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Briffa |first1=Jessica |last2=Sinagra |first2=Emmanuel |last3=Blundell |first3=Renald |date=September 8, 2020 |title=Heavy metal pollution in the environment and their toxicological effects on humans |journal=Heliyon |volume=6 |issue=9|article-number=e04691 |doi=10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04691 |doi-access=free |pmid=32964150 |pmc=7490536 |bibcode=2020Heliy...604691B }}</ref> *PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon) in large bodies of water contaminated by oil spills or leaks. Many of the PAHs are carcinogens and are extremely toxic. They are regulated by concentration (ppb) using environmental chemistry and chromatography laboratory testing. *Nutrients leaching from agricultural land into water courses, which can lead to algal blooms and eutrophication.<ref>United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Washington, DC. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061002050813/http://www.epa.gov/owow/nps/Ag_Runoff_Fact_Sheet.pdf "Protecting Water Quality from Agricultural Runoff."] Document No. EPA 841-F-05-001. March 2005.</ref> *Urban runoff of pollutants washing off impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots, and rooftops) during rain storms. Typical pollutants include gasoline, motor oil and other hydrocarbon compounds, metals, nutrients and sediment (soil).<ref>EPA. [https://web.archive.org/web/20030403043742/http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/nps_urban-facts_final.pdf "Protecting Water Quality from Urban Runoff."] Document No. EPA 841-F-03-003. February 2003.</ref> *Organometallic compounds.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sigel|first=A.|editor=Sigel, H. |editor2=Sigel, R.K.O. |title=Organometallics in Environment and Toxicology|publisher=RSC publishing|location=Cambridge|year=2010|series=Metal Ions in Life Sciences|volume=7|isbn=978-1-84755-177-1}}</ref> *Radiochemicals.

==Methods==

Quantitative chemical analysis is a key part of environmental chemistry, since it provides the data that frame most environmental studies.<ref name= vanLoonDuffyp7>{{cite book | last = vanLoon | first = Gary W. |author2=Duffy, Stephen J. | title = Environmental Chemistry | url = https://archive.org/details/environmentalche0000vanl | url-access = registration | publisher = Oxford | year = 2000 | location = Oxford | pages = [https://archive.org/details/environmentalche0000vanl/page/7 7] | isbn = 0-19-856440-6}}</ref>

Common analytical techniques used for quantitative determinations in environmental chemistry include classical wet chemistry, such as gravimetric, titrimetric and electrochemical methods. More sophisticated approaches are used in the determination of trace metals and organic compounds. Metals are commonly measured by atomic spectroscopy and mass spectrometry: Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission (ICP-AES) or Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric (ICP-MS) techniques. Organic compounds, including PAHs, are commonly measured also using mass spectrometric methods, such as Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Tandem Mass spectrometry MS/MS and High Resolution/Accurate Mass spectrometry HR/AM offer sub part per trillion detection. Non-MS methods using GCs and LCs having universal or specific detectors are still staples in the arsenal of available analytical tools.

Radioactive materials are assayed by particle counters and scintillation counter. Bioassays and immunoassays are utilized for toxicity evaluations of chemical effects on various organisms. Polymerase Chain Reaction PCR is able to identify species of bacteria and other organisms through specific DNA and RNA gene isolation and amplification and is showing promise as a valuable technique for identifying environmental microbial contamination.

==Further reading== *{{cite web |title=Clean Water Act Analytical Methods |url=https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods |date=2022-07-27 |publisher=EPA}} *{{cite web |title=Hazardous Waste Test Methods / SW-846 |url=https://www.epa.gov/hw-sw846 |date=2022-06-15 |publisher=EPA}} *{{cite book |title=Standard Methods For the Examination of Water and Wastewater |edition=21 |editor-last1=Eaton |editor-first1=Andrew D. |editor-last2=Greenberg |editor-first2=Arnold E. |editor-last3=Rice |editor-first3=Eugene W. |editor-last4=Clesceri |editor-first4=Lenore S. |editor-last5=Franson |editor-first5=Mary Ann H. |year=2005 |publisher=American Public Health Association |isbn=978-0-87553-047-5 |id=Also available on CD-ROM and [http://www.standardmethods.org/ online] by subscription}}

==Notable environmental chemists==

Joan Berkowitz Paul Crutzen (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1995) Philip Gschwend Alice Hamilton John M. Hayes Charles David Keeling Ralph Keeling Mario Molina (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1995) James J. Morgan Clair Patterson Roger Revelle Sherry Roland (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1995) Robert Angus Smith Susan Solomon Werner Stumm Ellen Swallow Richards Hans Suess John Tyndall

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== {{refbegin}} *Stanley E Manahan. ''Environmental Chemistry''. CRC Press. 2004. {{ISBN|1-56670-633-5}}. *{{cite book | author1 = Julian E. Andrews | author2 = Peter Brimblecombe|author2-link=Peter Brimblecombe| author3 = Tim D. Jickells | author4 = Peter S. Liss | author5 = Brian Reid | date = 25 April 2013 | title = An Introduction to Environmental Chemistry | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | pages = | isbn = 978-1-118-68547-1 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TaWA34oW2G4C}} *Rene P Schwarzenbach, Philip M Gschwend, Dieter M Imboden. ''Environmental Organic Chemistry, Second edition''. Wiley-Interscience, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2003. {{ISBN|0-471-35750-2}}. {{refend}}

* Johan Alfredo Linthorst, "Notes on Environmental Engagement within the American Chemical Society, 1960-1990," ''Bulletin for the History of Chemistry'' 50 (1), pp. 52–56, 2025. *NCERT XI textbook.[ unit 14]

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060614095743/http://www.liv.ac.uk/Chemistry/Links/refenviron.html List of links for Environmental Chemistry] - from the WWW Virtual Library *[http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/03067319.asp International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry] {{Environmental science}} {{BranchesofChemistry}} {{Sustainability}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Environmental Chemistry}} Category:Environmental chemistry Category:Biochemistry Category:Chemistry Category:Water pollution