Monitoring Environmental Contaminants

Tools, Techniques and Protocols for Monitoring Environmental Contaminants describes information on the strategic integration of available monitoring methods with molecular techniques, with a focus on omics (DNA, RNA and protein based) and molecular imprinted polymer and nanomaterial based advanced biosensors for environmental applications. It discusses the most commonly practiced analytic techniques, such as HPLC, MS, GCMS and traditional biosensors, giving an overview of the benefits of advanced biosensors over commonly practiced methods in the rapid and reliable assessment of environmental contaminants. As environmental contaminants have become one of the serious concerns in terms of their rapid growth and monitoring in the environment, which is often limited due to costly and laborious methods, this book provides a comprehensive update on their removal, the challenges they create for environmental regulatory agencies, and their diverse effects on terrestrial and aquatic environments. Provides methods for assessing and monitoring environmental contaminants Includes recent advancement in molecular techniques Outlines rapid environmental monitoring methods Explains the use of biosensors for environmental monitoring Reviews monitoring methods beyond conventional analytic techniques

Environmental Monitoring and Characterization is an integrated, hands-on resource for monitoring all aspects of the environment. Sample collection methods and relevant physical, chemical and biological processes necessary to characterize the environment are brought together in twenty chapters which cover: sample collection methods, monitoring terrestrial, aquatic and air environments, and relevant chemical, physical and biological processes and contaminants. This book will serve as an authoritative reference for advanced students and environmental professionals. Examines the integration of physical, chemical, and biological processes Emphasizes field methods and real-time data acquisition, made more accessible with case studies, problems, calculations, and questions Includes four color illustrations throughout the text Brings together the concepts of environmental monitoring and site characterization

While existing approaches to monitoring environmental contaminants tend to focus on a small suite of contaminant types and often involve monitoring at fixed points and at fixed times, Monitoring Environmental Contaminants focuses on a wide range of new technologies and approaches available for monitoring chemical and biological contaminants in air, water, soil and food. These new methods allow the ability to monitor a wider range of contaminants at much greater and temporal resolutions. Adoption of these methods could result in a change in our understanding of how humans and ecosystems are exposed to contaminants in different environmental media. This volume in the Environmental Contaminants Series provides an overview of a wide range of monitoring approaches ranging from citizen science networks to the use of robotics and sensor networks. Monitoring Environmental Contaminants describes challenges in the adoption of some of these new approaches and methods for dealing with these challenges such as the use of mining techniques for large data. The case studies within will provide a thorough illustration for researchers, academics, and scientists involved in ecology and environmental sciences. Brings together chapters from a wide range of research in ecology and the environmental sciences Utilizes an easily understandable style that can be absorbed by a wide audience Uses case studies to illuminate the application of selected novel contamination monitoring approaches

This series is dedicated to serving the growing community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the principles and applications of environ mental management. Each volume is a thorough treatment of a specific topic of importance for proper management practices. A fundamental ob jective of these books is to help the reader discern and implement man's stewardship of our environment and the world's renewable resources. For we must strive to understand the relationship between man and nature, act to bring harmony to it, and nurture an environment that is both stable and productive. These objectives have often eluded us because the pursuit of other in dividual and societal goals has diverted us from a course of living in balance with the environment. At times, therefore, the environmental manager may have to exert restrictive control, which is usually best applied to man, not nature. Attempts to alter or harness nature have often failed or backfired, as exemplified by the results of imprudent use of herbicides, fertilizers, water, and other agents. Each book in this series will shed light on the fundamental and applied aspects of environmental management. It is hoped that each will help solve a practical and serious environmental problem.

Monitoring pollutants in air, soil and water is a routine requirement in the workplace, and in the wider environment. Passive samplers can provide a representative picture of levels of pollutants over a period of time from days to months by measuring the average concentrations to which they have been exposed. Air monitors are widely used, for instance to measure the exposure of workers to volatile compounds, but also for monitoring the fate of pollutants in the atmosphere. Passive sampling devices are now becomining increasingly used to monitor pollutants in rivers, coastal waters and ground water where contamination results from sources such as domestic and industrial discharges, and the use of agrochemicals. Passive Sampling Techniques in Environmental Monitoring provides a timely collection of information on a set of techniques that help monitor the quality of air, surface and ground waters. Passive sampling can provide an inexpensive means of obtaining a representative picture of quality over a period of time, even where levels of pollutants fluctuate due to discontinuous discharges or seasonal application of chemicals such as pesticides. Recent changes in legislation have increased the pressure to obtain better information than that provided by classical infrequent spot sampling. Brought together in one source, this book looks at the performance of a range of devices for the passive sampling of metals, and of non-polar and polar organic chemicals in air and in water. The strengths and weaknesses and the range of applicability of the technology are considered. * Comprehensive review of passive sampling - covering air, water and majority of available technologies in one volume * Chapters written by international specialist experts * Covers theory and applications, providing background information and guidelines for use in the field

Publisher Description

Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space was written in response to a request from NASA's Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA) to evaluate its Advanced Human Support Technology Program. This report reviews the four major areas of the program: advanced life support (ALS), environmental monitoring and control (EMC), extravehicular activities (EVA), and space human factors (SHF). The focus of this program is on long-term technology development applicable to future human long-duration space missions, such as for a hypothetical new mission to the Moon or Mars.