Environmental chemistry

Environmental chemistry is a scientific discipline that studies the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It 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.

Overview

Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. 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 on these. Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary field that involves both analytical chemistry and a comprehensive understanding of environmental science.

Key Concepts

Pollutants and Contaminants

Pollutants and contaminants are substances that can cause an adverse effect on the air, water, or soil environments. These can be chemicals naturally found in the environment at harmful levels or foreign substances to the environment. Examples include heavy metals such as mercury and lead, organic pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and various forms of waste from industrial and agricultural operations.

Chemical Reactions in the Environment

Chemical reactions in the environment can alter the chemical form of pollutants, sometimes detoxifying them but other times making them more toxic. For example, mercury can be transformed from less harmful elemental mercury to more toxic methylmercury by microbial action in water bodies.

Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification

Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism. Biomagnification refers to the increase in concentration of a substance in a food chain, not an individual organism. These processes can lead to harmful concentrations of pollutants in organisms, including humans, at the top of the food chain.

Environmental Monitoring and Remediation

Environmental monitoring involves the measurement and analysis of environmental contaminants, whereas environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water for the general protection of human health and the environment.

Analytical Techniques

Environmental chemistry employs a range of analytical techniques to detect and quantify chemical species in the environment, including gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry (MS), and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).

Applications

Environmental chemistry has a wide range of applications, including: - Assessing the impact of industrial discharges and waste management practices on the environment. - Studying the effects of chemicals used in agriculture, such as pesticides and fertilizers, on ecosystems. - Understanding the chemical factors that influence climate change. - Developing methods for cleaning up contaminated sites and preventing future contamination.

Challenges

Environmental chemists face several challenges, including: - The complexity of natural systems and the difficulty in predicting the fate and transport of chemicals in these systems. - The need for more sensitive and selective analytical techniques to detect contaminants at low concentrations. - The development of sustainable and green chemistry practices to reduce the environmental impact of chemical production and use.

See Also

• Analytical chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Ecotoxicology
• Green chemistry
• Soil chemistry
• Water chemistry