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ERIC Number: EJ1250843
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Environmental Forensic Chemistry Experiment Involving Abandoned Mine Drainage Remediation
Journal of Chemical Education, v97 n4 p1083-1086 Apr 2020
Most forensic chemistry experiments focus on the usual suspects involving criminal scenarios: illicit drug identification, gunshot residue detection, blood and fingerprint analysis, and arson investigations. However, environmental forensics involves chemical techniques that can expand the breadth of experience for forensic chemistry students. An experimental case study was designed to determine the potential source of groundwater contamination along a series of treatment steps designed to mitigate the environmental effects of an abandoned mine drainage site. Simulated drainage samples representing each treatment step are analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy to quantify the metals present, a gravimetric method to determine the concentration of sulfate, and a pH meter to measure relative acidity of the drainage water. Using the data obtained from the simulated samples, students can determine the effectiveness of each treatment step as well as identify the location along the drainage treatment series that is the most likely source of the groundwater contamination.
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A