The Center for Applied Isotope Studies Laboratory for Environmental Analysis (LEA) provides high quality analyses of organic or inorganic environmental samples and contaminants, ions and ion speciation. We also provide a variety of soil characterization and analyses to university and industry researchers.

Organic Compounds and Contaminants

There are tens of thousands of potentially toxic organic compounds in soils, waters, and waste products, which makes organic compound analysis much more challenging than for the limited number of inorganic (elemental) analytes. Organics are often regulated by EPA at ppb (parts per billion) levels and often occur in complex mixtures in contaminated samples that further complicate identification and quantification. Classes of organic compounds of environmental interest include aliphatic and aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons, industrial solvents, pesticides, and high-molecular weight compounds such as PCB’s, dioxins, etc.

Sample preparation for organic analysis varies with the sample type and compound(s) of interest and the matrix. For many compounds, samples are typically prepared by extracting the soil, sediment, or water sample with an organic solvent such as dichloromethane, acetone or hexane; this solvent phase is then “cleaned up” by extraction into another organic solvent to remove interfering compounds. The extracted analytes are subjected to quantitation using GC or HPLC procedure. The following is a partial list of compounds that may be routinely determined in water, feed, soil or plant or animal tissues:

• Pesticides: aldrin, chlordane, DDD, DDE, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, ethion, heptachlor, lindane, malathion, methoxychlor, methyl parathion, mirex, parathion, rabon, toxaphen.
• Glyphosate and its degradation product aminoethylphosphonic acid (AMPA)
• Volatile Organics: vinly chloride, 1,1-dichlorethylene, methylene chloride, 1,1-dichloroethane, chloroform, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, dibromochloromethane, chlorobenzene, bromoform, 1,2-dichlorobenzene
• Petroleum Products: n-decane, n-unedecane, n-dodecane, n-tridecane, n-tetradecane, n-pentadecane, n-hexadecane, n-heptadecane, n-octadecane, n-nonadecane, n-eicosane, n-henicosane, n-docasane, n-triosane, n-tetracosane, n-pentacosane, n-hexacosane, n-heptacosane, n-octacosane, n-nonacosane, n-tricontane, n-hentricontane, n-dotriacontane, n-tritriacontane, n-tetratricontane, n-penatriacontane, naphthalene, flourene, dibenzothiophene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(b)pyrene, perylene, indeno(1,2,3 cd)pyrene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, pristane, phytane, anthracene
• BTEX Compounds: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o,m,p-xylenes.
• Sex Hormones: estradiol, estrone, estriol, testosterone
• Sterols: cholesterol, Coprastanol, epicoprastanol, chlestanol, campesterol, stigmasterol, sitosterol