Environmental technology plays an increasingly important role in today's world. This has led to many new developments in legislation and monitoring of environmental pollutants. A comprehensive treatment of these current trends is presented in this book. The reader is helped by a sound understanding of modern instrumental methods such as GC/MS, thermal desorption and purge-trap methods, that are available to meet these legal requirements. Many practical applications assist familiarization with these techniques. This work pays particular attention to methods of monitoring different types of chemicals ranging from pesticides to industrial pollutants. The description of the different design aspects of instruments and their effects on analysis aids the development of precise instrumental methods for the various specific problems in quality assurance.

It is increasingly recognized that the greatest risks of error in environmental analysis lie in the sample preparation rather than the analysis stage. This book describes the precautions that must be taken from the sampling to the sample pretreatment via the storage stage to assure good quality. Typical pitfalls - and recommendations for avoiding them - are discussed. Special emphasis is given to the monitoring of trace contaminants in environmental matrices (e. g., water, sediment, plants, air). This book, based on the experience of specialists, constitutes an invaluable guide to the quality assurance relevant to environmental chemists.

Quality Assurance in Environmental Monitoring Sampling and Sample Pretreatment Edited by Ph. Quevauviller It is increasingly recognized that the greatest risks of error in environmental analysis lie in the sample preparation rather than the analysis stage. This book describes the precautions that must be taken from the sampling to the sample pretreatment via the storage stage to assure good quality. Typical pitfalls -- and recommendations for avoiding them -- are discussed. Special emphasis is given to the monitoring of trace contaminates in environmental matrices (e. g., water, sediment, plants, air). This book, based on the experience of specialists, constitutes an invaluable guide to the quality assurance relevant to environmental chemists.