PREVIEW 2021 AQE & WWEM 43 WWEM 2021 ANALYTICAL (VIRTUAL) CONFERENCE


The WWEM 2021 Analytical conference will take place on 13th October focusing on three topical issues within Water, Wastewater & Environmental Monitoring. The three main themes of the conference will be the challenges involved with the laboratory analysis of microplastics, coronaviruses and PFAS.


MICROPLASTICS


Dr Richard Cross from UK CEH will provide the opening presentation, explaining that whilst a standard defi nition of microplastics has yet to be agreed, with the EC defi nition of a nanomaterial, microplastics may be considered as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm and greater than 100 nm. This presents an analytical challenge for the detection and quantifi cation of microplastics in complex environmental samples, because no single method can successfully enumerate all possible polymer types, across the full size range.


Dr Cross will present his team’s experiences in sampling, method development, processing and analysis at 8 WTWs and 8 WwTWs over a 7 month period in the UKWIR project ‘Sink to River - River to Tap’ - the fi rst study of its kind in the UK to develop a robust approach to sampling and detection of microplastic particles in the treated water cycle.


Dr Fay Couceiro from the University of Portsmouth (UK) will then discuss microplastics in the aquatic environment and their impacts on environmental and human health. This will encompass wastewater effl uents, freshwaters and marine waters, the main microplastics types and their ability to act a vectors. She will explain that once microplastics are in environmental waters they are too diffi cult and expensive to recover so it is essential to identify appropriate interventions, and some of these will be discussed.


CORONAVIRUSES


Dr Isobel Stanton from UKCEH will describe the TERM project in which levels of SARS-CoV-2 were monitored in school and prison wastewater as a non-intrusive means of coronavirus infection surveillance.


Previously, similar monitoring work has tracked antimicrobial resistance and the use of prescription drugs and illicit drugs excreted at a population level. Wastewater-based epidemiology enables the early identifi cation of local outbreaks and facilitates targeted use of local clinical testing.


The project was able to inform both institutions and local health authorities on whether mass surge testing of the various populations was needed to identify cases. Whilst community testing has been important in helping to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) methods can also play a complementary role by characterising the disease burden in the total population.


Dr James Hannan will then explain how virus quantifi cation by RTqPCR, together with other biomarkers such as phosphorus, total nitrogen and pH can play an important role in WBE programs. He will also describe the ways in which analytical automation saves time and cost.


In the third presentation of this session, Zhugen Yang from Cranfi eld University will describe work on a paper-based device for rapid, on-site wastewater surveillance.


PFAS


The PFAS group of compounds consists of both perfl uorinated compounds or perfl uoroalkyl acids PFAAs, where all carbons are saturated with F atoms, and polyfl uorinated compounds, where both fl uorine saturated carbons and carbons with hydrogen bonds are present. Polyfl uorinated precursor compounds biotransform to produce PFAAs as dead-end extremely persistent daughter products. The understanding of the fate and transport of these compounds in the environment is complex and challenging and will be discussed by Dr Ian Ross from Tetra Tech.


This large group of synthetic compounds known as ‘Forever Chemicals’ are growing in notoriety as a result of their toxicity, persistence and ability to bioaccumulate. Since the 1940s PFAS


compounds have been used in a wide variety of consumer products and industrial applications because of their chemical and physical properties, including oil and water repellence, temperature and chemical resistance, and surfactant properties. PFAS have been used in fi refi ghting foams, the manufacture of non-stick coatings for frying pans, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, cosmetics, furniture and outdoor clothing, paints and photographic materials.


Dr Ross will describe how the concepts of in-situ generation of perfl uroalkyl acids PFAAs via precursor biotransformation can be used to explain how signifi cant PFAS mass remains hidden in source areas.


PFAA precursors are so named because they transform slowly over time through abiotic and biological processes to the PFAAs. There is a natural biological funneling in which a host of PFAA precursor compounds containing a range of perfl uorinated alkyl chain lengths and functional groups, aerobically biotransform to persistent PFAA products.


The concepts of biological funneling show that PFAS behave signifi cantly differently to other contaminants and management plans need to be adapted to adequately understand the fate and transport of these contaminants. Examples of plans from AFFF fi refi ghting foam impacted sites will be presented, and the common breakdown products from PFAS in other sources, such as landfi lls and wastewater treatment plants will be described.


Geraint Williams from ALS will then describe the latest approaches to PFAS analysis. He will focus on the analytical options available, explaining that PFAS present many challenges for laboratories because whilst they are ubiquitous in the environment, their detection limit requirements are very low. The number of PFAS determined by conventional analyses are limited because analytical standards are not available for these compounds.


The presentation will review common analysis approaches, as well as providing details of more advanced techniques including Total Oxidisable Precursor TOP Assay and Total Organic Fluorine TOF analysis. The webinar will also provide guidance on sampling, QA/QC requirements, and how to overcome the potential diffi culties of cross-contamination at Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) limits.


Angelika Koepf from LCTech will describe recent regulatory updates in Europe and the USA. She will explain that analytically, the determination of PFAS using LCMSMS methods is challenging and not yet harmonised as it is for other POPs such as PCDD/PCDF, but sample preparation holds the same challenges for laboratories independent of regional regulation. Besides the requirement for solid-phase extraction clean-up with subsequent concentration, a key challenge is to keep the background of analytes as low as possible. Additionally, fl uorocarbon materials, commonly used in laboratory systems, are prone to release small amounts of PFAS that signifi cantly increase background levels.


The application of fully automated parallel sample preparation will be described, with multiple samples being processed at the same time.


The WWEM analytical conference is being organised by Prof. Gary Fones from the University of Portsmouth, who says: “The virtual and cost-free nature of the 2021 event will mean that delegates can dip in and out of the sessions of most interest, and we are therefore expecting increased participation from water sector professionals, regulators, environmental lobby groups, students, researchers and international participants.


“The event themes are all major issues for the global water sector, presenting signifi cant analytical challenges, so this will be a great opportunity for delegates to learn about the latest techniques and to share knowledge and experience.”


Discover world class laboratory analytical technology at WWEM


Shimadzu is a leading Japanese manufacturer who are world renown for their precision analytical instrumentation. Their strategy of innovation through extensive investment in research and development is core to Shimadzu’s approach to the manufacture of innovative solutions.


Visit the Shimadzu stand to learn more about their latest advances in analytical laboratory technology including the fi rst UHPLC system designed to support remote work style, ultra-fast TPH analysis, free chromatography troubleshooting guides and more useful resources!


Shimadzu provide the quality solutions for LC, LCMS, GC, GCMS, TOC, ICP, AA, EDX, UV-VIS, FTIR, fl uorescence, MALDI-MS, material testing machines, particle size analysers, micro hardness testers, high speed video cameras and balances. For More Info, email:


56060pr@reply-direct.com


email: For More Info, email:


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84