A little under a year ago, Chemistry Matters provided an all-day legal sampling seminar on best practices, requirements and techniques for legal sampling.
2DGC: Why You Need to Know about this Niche Analytical Technique
You may have heard about an analytical technique called 2DGC or Two-Dimensional Gas Chromatography. Or perhaps you have not.
Understand the "Why" before Collecting a Sample
Just Grab a Sample? Wait! Not so fast!
Unfortunately, I hear the words "just grab a sample" too often in my line of work.
The Highlights and Summary of Dioxin Conference 2016
This past week, I was able to attend the Dioxin conference in Florence, Italy. The conference is 36 years old, and it was started for the topic of Dioxins. Over the years, the conference has expanded to cover many more contaminants, but today, it mostly covers everything on persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
5 Outlooks for Environmental Forensics - Part Five: Presenting Results with Powerful Visuals
This is part 5 of the blog series on the 5 outlooks of Environmental Forensics.
Methane is from a Deeper Thermogenic Source . . . Or, is it?
The carbon isotope signature of methane is often presented as the ‘silver bullet’ capable of identifying whether soil gas is from a deeper thermogenic source or produced by microbial processes. The stakes are high because failing to identify a gas migration (GM) issue can have serious environmental consequences, and...
Why ethane is a key indicator to identify gas migration
Ethane is a reliable geochemical tracer that can be used as a single line of evidence to identify a potential gas migration issue. Ethane and longer chain hydrocarbons are produced during the thermal degradation of organic matter (kerogen) over geological timescales. Microbial processes in the shallow geology...
Measure Twice, Cut Once: How to Save Time & Money on GM Testing
Inconclusive gas migration tests are both costly and frustrating. Many times, completed tests still provide no real answer. Exposing the wellhead remains your only option to identify and fix otherwise unsuspected gas migration (GM). Wouldn’t it be great to get it right the first time?
Clean Sampling = Accurate Results: How to Ensure Your GM Isotope Geochemistry is Never Wrong
In recent weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with potential clients, several of whom are questioning the isotope numbers they received from the labs. Some are even suspicious of the very use of isotope geochemistry to help identify well issues, such as surface casing vent flows or even gas migration.
Social Media Sensationalism Can Frack Up the Truth
Social media chatter regarding a recent Environmental Science & Technology site publication caught my attention. The article covers fracking (a very, very bad word in today’s society), and how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were high near gas production areas studied by this article. Since I am passionate...