Characterization of Heavily Contaminated Sites using NMR Spectroscopy

Groundwater is a vital part of our modern society, supplying a significant amount of the water we use in our homes, agricultural fields and industries every day. Given its importance, we are all affected by the environmental, health, and economic consequences when groundwater is polluted with hazardous chemical contaminants. Characterizing the nature and extent of contamination present at a site is a key step when developing risk assessments and implementing remedial solutions for contaminated groundwater.

Conventional analytical approaches are usually designed for the targeted analysis of a suite of suspected contaminants. These methods, however, often fail to identify compounds that are not normally analyzed for, including degradation products, proprietary chemicals, and other species for which standards are not readily available. NMR spectroscopy provides a unique analytical approach to present a more complete and unbiased understanding of the nature and extent of organic compounds present at contaminated sites undergoing assessment and monitoring activities.

This poster discusses the use of 1D and 2D NMR experiments, including 1H, 13C, 19F, TOCSY, HSQC, DOSY and homonuclear J-Resolved, for the non-targeted analysis of constituents present at heavily contaminated sites.