Determining the recognition, provenance, and fate of anthropogenic chemicals in heterogeneous and complex environments using multiple mass spectrometry fingerprinting techniques

Abstract

A rise in the number and amount of anthropogenic chemicals has been observed within the environment as populations and industries grow, such that their presence is an increasing concern as society tries to mitigate their bio-accumulation and harmful impacts. The proposed research and laboratory based analytical approach will develop and produce field relevant forensic applications that can surpass other common approaches for point-of-origin detection and describing a chemicalÕs behavior and fate in the environment. Three independent mass spectrometer systems will be used to establish chemical, molecular, and stable isotopic fingerprints that can recognize and differentiate the presence of anthropogenic chemicals in the natural environment as well as trace their transformations from source manufacturing products through various environmental end-points - making otherwise indistinguishable chemicals distinguishable in the natural environment. A related family of anthropogenic chemicals (i.e., nitro-benzene, 2,4-dinitroanisol, 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one, and nitroguanidine) will be considered because there are multiple sources for their presence in the environment and because their environmental behaviors and fates are relatively unknown. This study will provide robust characterizations for chemical recognition, provenance, and fate of multiple anthropogenic chemicals in the environment for the first time and likely lead to future fundamental discoveries at the molecular level and in field-scale applications within polluted and natural environments.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Feb 14, 2019
Source ID
W911NF1910077

Entities

People

  • Brian Giebel

Organizations

  • Army Contracting Command
  • Research Foundation of The City University of New York
  • United States Army

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Agricultural Chemistry/Soil Science
  • Marine Ecotoxicology
  • Systems Analysis and Design