Chemistry Matters' Blog

Chemistry Matters Inc. in conjunction with Statvis Analytics Inc. just hosted an invitation only event for select clients at Rodney's Oyster Bar this past week. The informal venue allowed great conversation along with the enjoyment of fish, seafood and raw oysters all while providing some informative science and...

One of the more common chemical groups that we work on is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). I have worked on them since 2002 when I developed methods to measure human exposure to PAHs at the Centers for Disease Control and have been working on them ever since. Since 2004, the projects involved PAHs and PAH...

You have had a spill… don’t panic, everything will be fine. Accidents happen. It is what you do next that is important. I have worked on many spills and here are what I believe are four of the most important things from a chemist’s perspective.

My last blog post on the need for having a trusted chemist on your oil spill response team created a bit of a stir on LinkedIn with everyone insisting they have a more important role or a role that is of higher priority. Thank you all for the comments and the responses, this is what social media is about!

When they do happen, oil spills can be nasty, and the company responsible will likely enter emergency panic mode as it responds to contain and clean up the oil.

I was recently at a lunch meeting with a client to re-engage me in a historical project that I worked on many years before but had stalled due to lack of funding. We were discussing the project once again, and it was to begin in short order . . . But, even though I stay incredibly busy with my existing workload, I...

A little under a year ago, Chemistry Matters provided an all-day legal sampling seminar on best practices, requirements and techniques for legal sampling.  

I am always fascinated with the use of the latest analytical chemistry techniques in solving unique environmental, geochemical, and arson cases and projects. My interest in these techniques coincides with this also being the ‘golden age’ of analytical chemistry. Analytical chemistry has recently developed so...

During my seminars on arson and legal sampling over the years, one fundamental question is asked a lot regarding the collection of samples for ignitable liquid residue (ILR) analysis for a potential arson investigation. That question is, "Do my samples really need ice for storage and transport to the laboratory?"

As part of my seminars, with the latest being in April 2017 at the 2017 International Association Arson Investigations (IAAI) in Las Vegas, I routinely discuss the future of analytical chemistry, and in this case how it applies to ignitable liquid residue(ILR) analysis.

I will tell the audience that we are currently...