Micro-organic Analysis

A new team was established in 2008 with a remit to continue the measurements previously conducted in distributed laboratories. The principal sources of these chemicals are from agriculture, industry, transport, urbanisation and sewage discharge.

Studies on micro-organic in the environment fall into the following categories:

• Non-polar, hydrophobic, persistent and toxic compounds that bio-accumulate in the food chain, e.g. persistent organic pollutants
• Polar, less persistent, water soluble compounds that are mobile in the ecosystem and exhibit a range of toxicities e.g. steroid hormone endocrine disrupters
• Chemical ecology e.g. pheromones

The instrumentation currently in use includes:

• GCMS (Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry) with electron capture and chemical ionisation detectors for general quantitation and screening
• LCMS (Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ) equipped with triple-quadrupole detectors for ultra-trace quantification
• Time of flightmass spectrometer for quantitation screening via accurate mass and structural elucidation.
• Ion trap system for quantitation and structural elucidation

Examples of recent collaborations across CEH sites:

• Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme: pesticide and rodenticide residues
• Fate of steroid oestogen in sewage and river systems
• The effects of poly-aromatic hydrocarbons on earthworms
• Detecting emerging contaminants in the Ribble / Wyre catchments e.g., pharmaceuticals