Read the text and learn the terms used for the analytical and instrumentation techniques.

Chemical Aspect of Ecology – Measurements and Techniques

Almost all natural objects like water bodies, soil, air as well as living organisms are assessed by environmental chemists for the presence of various chemicals. Common analytical techniques used for quantitative determinations in environmental chemistry involve classical wet chemistry, such as gravimetric, titrimetric and electrochemical methods.

More sophisticated approaches are used in the determination of trace metals and organic compounds. Supersensitive devices are employed for these purposes. Metals are commonly measured by atomic spectroscopy and mass spectrometry: Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission (ICP-AES) or Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric (ICP-MS) techniques. Organic compounds are commonly measured also using mass spectrometric methods, such as Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) and Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS).

Freshwater environmental quality parameters are vitally important for evaluation of the water body condition, current environmental monitoring and health effects. Chemical measures of water quality include dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, nutrients (nitrates and phosphorus), heavy metals (including copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and mercury), and pesticides.

Other parameters often measured in environmental chemistry are radiochemicals. These are pollutants which emit radioactive materials, such as alpha and beta particles, posing danger to human health and the environment. Particle counters and Scintillation counters are most commonly used for these measurements.

Notes to the text:

environmental assessments - оценка воздействия на окружающую среду; экологическая экспертиза

Answer the following questions.

1. What parameters are typically measured by environmental chemists?

2. What common analytical techniques are used in ecological chemistry?

3. What natural objects are in the full glare of the environmental assessments specialists?

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Pay attention to the Tense markers.

1. As a rule, heavy metal pollution ...(be)… of anthropogenic origin. 2. Chemistry always …(be)… of great value to pharmaceuticals industry. 3. At present analytical chemistry …(play)… an important part in the environmental assessments. 4. In the nearest future complex instrumentation techniques …(be)… of critical importance in the a hazardous wastes assessment. 5. These radioactive wastes still…(be)… of great danger to human safety. Moreover, next several decades they …(pose)… danger to the environment within a radius of ten miles.

6. Many scientists predict that renewable energy sources …(be)… vitally important in future. But even now scientists …(conduct)… search for such energy sources.

Chemical analytical laboratories offer a wide variety of instrumentation techniques of analysis. What instrumentation techniques are typically applied for the environmental assessments?

a) Match A and B.

A Instrumentation Techniques	B Typical Applications
Titrimetric methods	Pesticides
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry	TDS
(GC/MS) and (LC/MS)	BOD
Gravimetric methods	pH
Electrochemical methods	Heavy metals

b) Make phrases like in the models:

a) Chemists use particle counters for the detection of radiochemicals.

b) Scintillation counters are commonly employed for radiochemicals.

 

Tell about the analytical and instrumental techniques studied in your program and applied for current researches of the environment.

 

U nit II

Grammar:the “ -ing”-Forms

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