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Eingeladener Vortrag
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The role of matrix reference materials in the process of demonstrating the degree of equivalence of measurement results obtained from intercomparisons is outlined, reviewing exemplary selected experience gained at BAM regarding the determination of organic contaminants in environmental matrices.
The specific characteristics of reference materials employed in the process of demonstrating equivalence between laboratories in the course of proficiency testing as well as the development, comparison and validation of methods are elaborated. The demand is for series of appropriately characterised samples which are fit for the purpose and it is seen from representative examples that the utilisation of such tailor-made RM designed to tackle the specific need of an analytical problem dominates over certified matrix reference materials in this context. Concluding, the role of certified matrix reference materials in quality assurance is briefly looked at both from the users and providers points of view.
1,2,5,6,9,10-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), a widely used flame retardant, is an ubiquitous contaminant in
the environment. Still, only little is known about the distribution and behavior in the environment such as
bioaccumulation or biotransformation of HBCD stereoisomers. In order to investigate enrichment and possible
bioisomerization of HBCD stereoisomers, Mirror Carps were exposed to pure (+)- and (-)-γ-HBCD, randomly
sampled after a predefined specific period and subjected to enantiomer-specific determination of α-, β-, and γ-
HBCD. No evidence for the isomerization of HBCD stereoisomers was observed in Mirror Carp fillets.
A method for the determination of the novel brominated flame retardant tetrabromobisphenol A bis(2,3-dibromopropylether), 1,1'-(isopropylidene)bis[3,5-dibromo-4-(2,3-dibromo-propoxy)-benzene] (TBBPA-dbpe), was developed. Technical TBBPA-dbpe was purified and the results of a thorough physical characterisation are reported. The application of APCI-MS is discussed and the fragmentation patterns are described. Quantification of TBBPA-dbpe was done by HPLC-DAD using external calibration. The validation of the method was accomplished using sediment and sewage sludge samples spiked with defined amounts of authentic TBBPA-dbpe. The average recovery rates of TBBPA-dbpe from spiked samples ranged from 35 to 91% (sediment) and from 57 to 98% (sewage sludge) depending on the respective extraction method. Pressurised fluid extraction (PFE) and fluidised bed extraction were superior to classical Soxhlet and sonication procedures and yielded recovery rates between 90 and 98% with relative standard deviations of 2%. The limits of detection (DTC), identification (ID) and determination (DTM) using HPLC-DAD were 10, 21 and 30 ng g-1 in sediment and 22, 44 and 72 ng g-1 in sewage sludge, respectively.
Fuel contamination of soils display complex and variable hydrocarbon mixtures with different volatility and toxicity characteristics. A recently suggested headspace procedure for the structure-based quantification of volatile hydrocarbons is evaluated regarding repeatability, reproducibility, and practical robustness. Three aliphatic and three aromatic fractions covering the boiling range between 69 and 216°C were defined as summation parameters by their respective equivalent carbon number ranges. A standard mixture of 35 aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons was used for calibration on basis of selected mass fragments specific for the aliphatics and aromatics, respectively. Two standard soils were fortified with the standard mixture or different fuels, respectively, and submitted to the analytical procedure. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were for all fractions lower than 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg, respectively. Analyte recovery was linear up to between 20 and 110 mg hydrocarbons/kg soil depending on the fraction. Hydrocarbon recovery ranged between 80% and 110% depending on the fraction and the repeatability was typically better than 10%. Finally, the impact of extraction solvent variation, column solid-phase polarity, and alternative summation of fractions were investigated. The procedure was applied to liner samples taken from a site contaminated with aviation fuel and its practicability is discussed.
A Proof of Concept: Are Detection Dogs a Useful Tool to Verify Potential Biomarkers for Lung Cancer?
(2018)
Early and reliable diagnostic test is essential for effective therapy of lung cancer. Volatile organic compounds that are characteristic for cancer could serve as valuable biomarkers in cancer diagnosis. Both trace analytical and detection dog approaches give some evidence for the existence of such biomarkers. In this proof of concept, study dogs and trace analysis were implemented in combination to gain more information concerning cancer biomarkers. Two dogs were trained to distinguish between absorbed breath samples of lung cancer patients and healthy persons and succeeded with correct identification of patients with 9/9 and 8/9 and correct negative indications from of 8/10 and 4/10 samples from healthy individuals. A recent observational study found that breath samples from lung cancer patients showed an increase in 1-butanol, 2-butanone, 2-pentanone, and hexanal. Synthetic air samples were therefore fortified with these compounds and adsorbed to a fleece. Tested against breath samples from healthy probands, on presentation to the dogs these synthetic samples provoked an indication in three out of four samples. We were able to demonstrate that a combination of the natural nose of a dog and a trace analytic technique can be a valuable concept in the search for cancer biomarkers.
Als Folge der industriellen Produktion und der vielfältigen industriellen Nutzung von organischen Lösungsmitteln sind eine Vielzahl von Edukten, Zwischen- und Endprodukten in die Umwelt eingetragen worden und führen zu massiven Verunreinigungen des Bodens und des Grundwassers. Die Untersuchung und Sanierung des Grundwassers stellt einen aktuellen Schwerpunkt in der Altlastenbearbeitung dar. Vielfach werden klassische pump & treat-Verfahren zur Grundwassersanierung verwendet. Diese aktiven Sicherungs- und Sanierungsmaßnahmen werden jedoch unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Verhältnismäßigkeit häufig als ineffizient eingeschätzt. Als Alternative sollen die natürlichen Abbauprozesse im Grundwasserleiter genutzt oder gezielt verstärkt werden, um auf diesem Weg eine in-situ-Sanierung des Grundwasserleiters zu erreichen. In den letzten Jahren haben sich verschiedene Sanierungsverfahren etabliert, bei denen durch die Zugabe von Hilfsstoffen die mikrobiologische Aktivität des Aquifers erhöht wird bzw. Stoffe zugeführt werden, die mit den Schadstoffen reagieren (in-situ chemische Oxidation bzw. Reduktion, ISCO). An ausgewählten Standorten ist auch die aktive Sanierung (pump & treat, on-site- Sanierung) mit biologischem Schadstoffabbau (Bio-Filter) kombiniert worden. Um den Sanierungsverlauf zu verfolgen und zu optimieren, ist die Beprobung von Grundwasser aus dem Grundwasserleiter oder aus laufenden Anlagen erforderlich. In Fällen der gesteigerten mikrobiologischen Aktivität des Grundwassers treten gehäuft Probleme bei der Stabilisierung der Wasserproben auf. Die forcierten Abbauprozesse der Schadstoffe gehen nach der Probenahme in der Probenflasche weiter, bis die Energiebasis der Mikrobiologie aufgebraucht ist. Durch eine geringe Temperaturerhöhung beschleunigen sich diese Prozesse zusätzlich. In der Folge können die Schadstoffgehalte teilweise innerhalb weniger Stunden stark reduziert werden. Im Analysenlabor wird dann ein Schadstoffgehalt nachgewiesen, der nicht mehr die Verhältnisse im Aquifer bzw. im Ablauf der Reinigungsstufen widerspiegelt. Eine Einschätzung des Sanierungsfortschritts oder der Reinigungsleistung ist unter diesen Bedingungen stark fehlerbehaftet und kann zu groben Fehlinterpretationen führen. Grundwasserproben, die einem Aquifer mit hoher natürlicher oder initiierter mikrobiologischer Abbauaktivität entstammen, müssen daher zusätzlich stabilisiert werden, um den Ist-Zustand zum Zeitpunkt der Probenahme zu erfassen. Die Konservierung von Wasserproben bei der Probenahme von Grundwasser ist in der Normung umfangreich beschrieben: Die EN ISO 5667-3 von 2004 ist im Normausschuss (NA 119-01-03-01-01) überarbeitet und 2012 als Norm verabschiedet worden (EN ISO 5667-3, 03.12, deutsche Fassung DIN EN ISO 5667-3, 03-2013) [1], In Einzelfällen hat sie sich nicht als ausreichend erwiesen, um die Stabilität der organischen Schadstoffe in den oben beschriebenen Wasserproben zu gewährleisten.
Aim: The objective of the study was to provide conclusive evidence for the effect of particle size reduction as by milling on the extractable content of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) of hair samples. Methods: A number of real case hair samples and two pooled hair materials with EtG contents in the range of 1030 pg/mg were systematically compared with regard to the extraction yield of EtG after cutting to 23 mm length and pulverization with a ball mill. After the respective treatment the samples were submitted to aqueous extraction followed by quantification of EtG using HPLC-MS/MS. Results: It was unequivocally demonstrated that milling of hair samples prior to aqueous extraction significantly increases the extractable EtG content compared with cut hair. The effect ranged between 137 and 230% and was seen to occur regardless of the extent of pulverization. Cooling of samples was not necessary to prevent partial degradation of EtG during the grinding procedure. Conclusion: The options currently employed at choice in analytical practice (cutting or milling) were seen to significantly affect the extractable amount of EtG in hair. This is suspected to influence the degree of equivalence of quantification results obtained in different laboratories as well as their respective classification of a test subject's drinking behaviour on the basis of currently recommended cut-off values.
Time courses of HBCD levels and enantiomeric signatures in herring gull eggs from the German coast
(2010)
Levels of α-, β-, and γ-hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were determined in pooled eggs from herring gulls (Larus argentatus) sampled on three bird sanctuaries near the German North Sea coast between 1988 and 2008 (Mellum and Trischen) and the German Baltic Sea coast between 1998 and 2008 (Heuwiese) and archived by the German Environmental Specimen Bank. Pressurized fluid extraction, gel permeation chromatography, and LCMS/MS using 13C12-labelled isotope standards and a chiral column were applied. α-HBCD was the dominating diastereomer and ranged between 3.7 and 107 ng g-1 lw while β- and γ-HBCD were throughout close to LOQ. The highest α-HBCD concentration was found in eggs from Mellum sampled in the year 2000. Interestingly, HBCD in eggs from the three islands displayed similar time courses with levels increasing to a peak contamination around 2000 and decreasing levels ever since. Chiral signatures of α-HBCD in eggs differed among the islands but indicated a preferential enrichment of the first eluting enantiomer (-)-α-HBCD.
In vitro cultured lung cancer cells are not suitable for animal-based breath biomarker detection
(2015)
In vitro cultured lung cancer cell lines were investigated regarding the possible identification of volatile organic compounds as potential biomarkers. Gas samples from the headspace of pure culture medium and from the cultures of human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines A549 and Lu7466 were exposed to polypropylene fleece in order to absorb odour components. Sniffer dogs were trained with loaded fleeces of both cell lines, and honey bees were trained with fleeces exposed to A549. Afterwards, their ability to distinguish between cell-free culture medium odour and lung cancer cell odour was tested. Neither bees nor dogs were able to discriminate between odours from the cancer cell cultures and the pure culture medium. Solid phase micro extraction followed by gas chromatography with mass selective detection produced profiles of volatiles from the headspace offered to the animals. The profiles from the cell lines were largely similar; distinct differences were based on the decrease of volatile culture medium components due to the cells' metabolic activity. In summary, cultured lung cancer cell lines do not produce any biomarkers recognizable by animals or gas chromatographic analysis.
The title compound, {2-[(2-carbamoylethyl)amino]-3-methylpentanoic acid}, C9H18N2O3, is of interest with respect to its biological activity. It was formed during an addition reaction between acrylamide and the amino acid isoleucine. The crystal structure is a three-dimensional network built up by intermolecular N–H···O and O–H···N hydrogen bonds.
The validation of a robust quantification procedure for EtG in hair using GC–NCI–MS is presented. Aqueous extraction is followed by complete lyophylization of the extract and derivatization with pentafluoropropionic anhydride (PFPA) under controlled temperature and duration. Clean-up of extracts was dispensable and standard single quadrupole MS displayed sufficient selectivity and sensitivity. The method displayed a wide linearity range and enabled LOD of 0.68 pg/mg, LOQ of 2.4 pg/mg, and precision below 8.12%. Since EtG was seen to display prolonged stability in the aqueous extracts and after derivatization with PFPA this straightforward procedure allows a routine throughput of large quantities of samples with little proneness to procedural scatter of results. The method was applied to demonstrate the homogeneity of two hair reference materials with mean EtG contents of 8.48 pg/mg and 22.0 pg/mg. Aside from the application in homogeneity studies of hair reference materials predominantly in the concentration range of 10–50 pg/mg the method was also designed for daily routine quantification of real-world sample with regard to drinking behavior assessment.
The assessment of quantification results of the alcohol abuse marker ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair in comparison to the cut-off values for the drinking behavior may be complicated by cosmetic hair bleaching. Thus, the impact of increasing exposure to hydrogen peroxide on the EtG content of hair was investigated. Simultaneously, the change of absorbance in the range of 1000–1100 cm-1 indicative for the oxidation of cystine was investigated non-destructively by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) using pulverized portions of the respective hair samples. Hair samples treated with hydrogen peroxide consistently displayed a significantly increased absorbance at 1040 cm-1 associated with the formation of cysteic acid. The EtG content decreased significantly if the hair was treated with alkaline hydrogen peroxide as during cosmetic bleaching. It could be shown that ATR-FTIR is capable of detecting an exposure to hydrogen peroxide when still no brightening was visible and already before the EtG content deteriorated significantly. Thus, hair samples suspected of having been exposed to oxidative treatment may be checked non-destructively by a readily available technique. This assay is also possible retrospectively after EtG extraction and using archived samples.
Process waters obtained from hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of wheat straw, a biogas digestate derived thereof, and four woody biomass feedstocks were quantified regarding the total organic carbon (TOC) and selected organic compounds. HTC runs revealed that TOC loads were largely unaffected by process severity or type of feedstock whereas the C2–C6 fatty acids, determined by GC, displayed clear effects of temperature and feedstock. HPLC demonstrated simultaneously the initial increase and subsequent consumption of cellulose-derived furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural as well as the increase of the lignin-derived 2-methoxyphenol. 2-Methylbenzofuran, an example for a substance potentially harmful to aquatic biota, was observed in high concentration in the HTC liquor from wheat straw-based feedstocks.
A combination of simultaneous milling and extraction known as micropulverized extraction was developed for the quantification of the alcohol marker ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair samples using a homogeneous reference material and a mixer mill. Best extraction results from 50 mg of hair were obtained with 2-mL plastic tubes containing two steel balls (Ø = 5 mm), 0.5 mL of water and with an oscillating frequency of 30 s-1 over a period of 30 min. EtG was quantified employing a validated GC-MS procedure involving derivatization with pentafluoropropionic acid anhydride. This micropulverization procedure was compared with dry milling followed by separate aqueous extraction and with aqueous extraction after manual cutting to millimeter-size snippets. Micropulverization yielded 28.0±1.70 pg/mg and was seen to be superior to manually cutting (23.0±0.83 pg/mg) and equivalent to dry grinding (27.7±1.71 pg/mg) with regard to completeness of EtG extraction. The option to process up to 20 samples simultaneously makes micropulverization especially valuable for the high throughput of urgent samples.
The interlaboratory variability in the quantification of adsorbable organically bound halogens (AOX) in industrially contaminated soil is presented. Three consecutive rounds of a proficiency testing scheme, in which between 88 and 119 routine laboratories participated, yielded relative reproducibility standard deviations between 7 and 20% at AOX contents between 10.9 and 268 mg kg-1. Nineteen laboratories with established proficiency were invited to participate in the certification of the AOX content in three soil reference materials meant for the internal quality control in analytical laboratories. The certified values are (1349 ± 59) mg kg-1, (80 ± 7) mg kg-1 and (102 ± 8) mg kg-1, respectively.
This article describes a simple and quick in silico method for the prediction of cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated hydroxylation of drug-like compounds. Testosterone and progesterone, two known substrates of CYP3A4, are used to test the method. Further, we apply the procedure to predict sites of hydroxylation of isomers of the flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane by CYP3A4. Within the method, the compound is rotated in the binding pocket of the cytochrome, so that each hydrogen under consideration is placed near the active centre. Afterwards, short molecular dynamics simulations are provided for each step of the rotation. All steps of the simulation are compared concerning the distances between the hydrogens and the active centre and the corresponding energies. The computational results correlate well with experimental results.
HBCD isomers: degradation rates and hydroxylated products from microsome incubation experiments
(2010)
1,2,5,6,9,10-Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is a widely used flame retardant, which tends to persist in the environment and accumulates in biota. The six stereoisomers (three racemates named α-, β-, and γ-HBCD) of the technical mixture were isolated with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Direct separations were performed on a chiral stationary phase containing permethylated -cyclodextrin (NUCLEODEX -PM column) and the pure enantiomers of α-, β-, and γ-HBCD were physically characterized for the first time. The absolute configurations of all six isomers were determined by anomalous dispersion using single crystal X-ray crystallography. Optical rotations αD in tetrahydrofuran were +4.2/-4.0 (α-HBCD), +26.1/-27.5 (β-HBCD), and +68.0/-66.3 (γ-HBCD). The sense of rotation could be correlated with the absolute configurations of α-, β-, and γ-HBCD enantiomers and their order of elution on a chiral permethylated β-cyclodextrin-bonded stationary phase. The diastereomers α-, β-, and γ-HBCD displayed distinctly different melting points as well as 1H-, 13C NMR, and IR spectra.
The title compound [systematic name: (2R,3R,4S,5R,6R) 2-(acetoxymethyl)-6-propoxytetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4,5-triyl triacetate], C17H26O10, was formed by a Koenigs-Knorr reaction of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-α-D-glucopyranosyl bromide and n-propanol. The central ring adopts a chair conformation. The crystal does not contain any significant interactions such as hydrogen bonds.
The performance of twelve laboratories with previously established proficiency in the determination of the mineral oil content in a fresh water sediment is described. The summation parameter total petrol hydrocarbon (TPH) is defined according to ISO 16703:2004 with regard to the sample preparation to be applied, the flame ionisation detection (FID) and the boiling range of C10C40 to be integrated. Comprehensive tests of homogeneity and stability have been carried out on the candidate material using appropriate models. The outcome of the study served as the basis for the certification of the candidate reference material as ERM-CC015a. The certified mass fraction is 1,820±130mgkg-1 and traceability was established by using an appropriate calibration standard certified for the mass fraction of C10C40. The interlaboratory scatter of measurement results in this exercise can largely be explained by the variability of the individual calibrations based on this common calibration standard.
Wie viele Forschergruppen, haben auch wir uns das langfristige Ziel gesetzt, einen Beitrag bei der Beantwortung der Frage zu leisten, was Hunde riechen, wenn sie Krebs erschnüffeln.
Dabei sollen die Hunde nicht nur anzeigen, ob eine Atemluftprobe positiv oder negativ ist, sondern sie sollen auch aktiv eingebunden werden in den systematischen Suchprozess nach detektierbaren Biomarkern. So ist geplant, dass mittels eines präparativen Fraktionssammlers definierte Schnitte des Gaschromatogramms einzeln oder in möglichen Kombinationen auf das Adsorbervlies gebracht werden, um im Hundetraining eingesetzt zu werden. In analoger Weise könnte auch mit spezifischen Kandidatensubstanzen verfahren werden.
Der Einsatz aktiver (Pumpprobennahme,
Schöpfprobennahme) und passiver (Diffusionsprobennahme)
Probennahmetechniken zur Gehaltsbestimmung von
LHKW sowie Ethen und Methan in Grundwasser wird aus
ordnungsbehördlicher Sicht hinsichtlich der Vergleichbarkeit
von Analysendaten untersucht. Am Beispiel einer Kontamination
mit Trichlorethen sowie 1,2-Dichlorethen und
Vinylchlorid kann deutlich gemacht werden, dass die Einsatzmöglichkeit
der passiven Probennahme durch unzureichende
Strömungsverhältnisse im Aquifer sowie biologische
Aktivität im Pegelrohr begrenzt ist. Der aktiven Probennahme
ist bei ungeklärten oder unzureichenden Strömungsverhältnissen
im Grundwasserleiter daher der Vorzug
zu geben. Das gaschromatographische Verfahren für Vinylchlorid
mittels Dampfraumtechnik wird um die Quantifizierung
von Methan und Ethen erweitert. Dabei werden für
die Bewertung von Altlasten relevante Bestimmungsgrenzen
von 0,1 µg/l (Vinylchlorid, Ethen) sowie 5 µg/l (Methan)
erreicht.
Aus der Validierung der Analysenmethode und den
Ergebnissen verschiedener Probennahmen werden Toleranzbereiche
für die Ergebnisse eines Grundwassermonitorings
abgeschätzt. Diese Streubreiten von Monitoring-
Ergebnissen sollten von Ingenieurbüros und zuständigen
Ordnungsbehörden bei der Bewertung der komplexen Abbauprozesse
eines LHKW-Grundwasserschadens beachtet
werden.
Odor Perception by Dogs: Evaluating Two Training Approaches for Odor Learning of Sniffer Dogs
(2017)
In this study, a standardized experimental set-up with various combinations of herbs as odor sources was designed. Two training approaches for sniffer dogs were compared; first, Training with a pure reference odor, and second, training with a variety of odor mixtures with the target odor as a common denominator. The ability of the dogs to identify the target odor in a new context was tested. Six different herbs (basil, St. John’s wort, dandelion, marjoram, parsley, ribwort) were chosen to produce reference materials in various mixtures with (positive) and without (negative)chamomile as the target odor source. The dogs were trained to show 1 of 2 different behaviors, 1 for the positive, and 1 for the negative sample as a yes/no task. Tests were double blind with one sample presented at a time. In both training approaches, dogs were able to detect chamomile as the target odor in any presented mixture with an average sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 84%. Dogs trained with odor mixture containing the target odor had more correct indications in the transfer task.
The concentration of contaminants in groundwater samples can be decreased by degradation in the time course between field sampling and quantification in the laboratory, especially in samples from sites where degradation activity is enhanced by remediation measures. The sampling sites covered a variety of priority organic pollutants such as volatile aromatic and chlorinated compounds, phenols and petroleum hydrocarbons and different remediation strategies such as anaerobic and aerobic microbial in situ degradation, in situ chemical oxidation, and on-site purification with biological treatment. The stability of the contaminants' concentration was investigated over a time range of several hours without cooling in the autosampler of the analytical equipment (short term) and over several days of storage until analysis (long term). A number of stabilisation techniques suggested in international standards ISO 5667-3:2013 and ASTM D6517:2000 were compared both with regard to short term and long term stabilisation of the contaminants and their practicability for field sampling campaigns. Long term storage turned out to be problematic for most compound groups even under cooling. Short term stability was problematic also for volatiles such as benzenic aromates, naphthalene and volatile organic halogenated compounds to be analysed by headspace gas chromatography. Acidification (pH <2) was sufficient to prevent degradation of benzenic aromates, naphthalene, phenols and petrol hydrocarbons for up to seven days. The use of acids was not applicable to stabilise volatiles in waters rich in carbonates and sulphides due to stripping of the volatiles with the liberated gases. The addition of sodium azide was successfully used for stabilisation of volatile organic halogenated compounds.
The nature and concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in chars generated by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is of concern considering their application as soil amendment. Therefore, the presence of VOCs in solid HTC products obtained from wheat straw, biogas digestate and four woody materials was investigated using headspace gas chromatography. A variety of potentially harmful benzenic, phenolic and furanic volatiles along with various aldehydes and ketones were identified in feedstock- and temperature-specific patterns. The total amount of VOCs observed after equilibration between headspace and char samples produced at 270 °C ranged between 2000 and 16,000 µg/g (0.2–1.6 wt.%). Depending on feedstock 50–9000 µg/g of benzenes and 300–1800 µg/g of phenols were observed. Substances potentially harmful to soil ecology such as benzofurans (200–800 µg/g) and p-cymene (up to 6000 µg/g in pine wood char) exhibited concentrations that suggest restrained application of fresh hydrochar as soil amendment or for water purification.
A number of currently recommended sampling techniques for the determination of hydrogen in contaminated groundwater were compared regarding the practical proficiency in field campaigns. Key characteristics of appropriate sampling procedures are reproducibility of results, robustness against varying field conditions such as hydrostatic pressure, aquifer flow, and biological activity. Laboratory set-ups were used to investigate the most promising techniques. Bubble stripping with gas sampling bulbs yielded reproducible recovery of hydrogen and methane which could be verified for groundwater sampled in two field campaigns. The methane content of the groundwater was confirmed by analysis of directly pumped samples thus supporting the trueness of the stripping results. Laboratory set-ups and field campaigns revealed that bubble stripping of hydrogen may be restricted to the type of used pump. Concentrations of dissolved hydrogen after bubble stripping with an electrically driven submersible pump were about one order of magnitude higher than those obtained from diffusion sampling. The gas chromatographic determination for hydrogen and methane requires manual injection of gas samples and detection by a pulsed discharge detector (PDD) and allows limits of quantification of 3 nM dissolved hydrogen and 1 µg L-1 dissolved methane in groundwater. The combined standard uncertainty of the bubble stripping and GC/PDD quantification of hydrogen in field samples was 7% at 7.8 nM and 18% for 78 nM.
A practical method for the quantification of
total purgeable organic sulfur (POS) in highly contaminated
groundwater is described. Volatile organic sulfur
compounds (VOSC) are purged from the water samples by
a stream of oxygen and combusted. The emerging sulfur
dioxide is absorbed in H2O2 and converted to sulfate which
is quantified by ion chromatography and reported as mass
sulfur equivalent. The overall limit of quantification is
0.03 mg l1. The content of POS is balanced with the total
VOSC determined by GC-AED after liquidliquid extraction.
Separate determination of the non-volatile organic
sulfur compounds by direct combustion of the water sample
and adsorption to charcoal yielded a mass balance of
the total sulfur content. Semi-quantitative GC-MS after
purge & trap accumulation revealed that the VOSC mixture
is composed of C1C4 alkyl sulfides. The implementation
of the developed methodology for the quantification of
VOSC as potential catalyst poison in a cleaning plant
for groundwater contaminated with volatile haloorganics
(VOX) is presented.
The reliability in measurement results obtained during environmental monitoring is crucial for the assessment and further planning of remediation efforts on the respective contaminated sites by the responsible authorities. A case study concerned with groundwater contaminated with perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane including their degradation products which involves private contract laboratories and an independent provider of quality assurance (QA) is presented. The experience gained with biannual monitoring campaigns over 14 years indicates that the selection of contractors on basis of accreditation status and successful performance in interlaboratory comparisons are not sufficient. Rather the auditing of the contractors by the QA provider prior to each campaign and the crosschecking of selected monitoring samples by the QA provider led to a lasting improvement of reliability in the contractors' measurement results. A mean deviation of 20% from the reference value determined by the QA provider for the crosschecked samples was reached.