Environmental Forensics

Environmental forensics is the systematic and scientific evaluation of physical, chemical and historical information, to develop defensible scientific and legal conclusions regarding the source or age of a contaminant release into the environment.

At Aapaavani, we can help you with various applications of environmental forensics including identification of the areas of contamination to allocate responsibility for remediation in areas of mixed waste streams from multiple parties, distinguishing between anthropogenic and anthropomorphic contaminants, and for marine oil pollution, determining the spill source.

The techniques that we use for Contaminant Age Dating and Source identification include:

Aerial photo interpretation and photogrammetry
Association of unique chemicals with a discrete chemical process
Identification of a manufacturer with a particular product and formulation
The use of chemical additives and/or impurities
Chemical profiling
Chemical degradation modelling
Contaminant transport modelling (air, soil, soil vapour, groundwater)
Compound-specific isotopic analysis (CSIA)
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and dioxin/furan congener analysis

How it Works

Here are the steps involved in the process of environmental forensics — from the initial site investigation through lab analysis to the final remediation.