Environmental Forensic Investigations FSCT 8201

Environmental Forensics involves systematic examinations of environmental information to determine sources of chemical contamination, timing of releases to the environment, spatial distribution of contamination, cost recovery actions, liability claims, and potentially responsible parties to allocate remedial costs. Environmental Forensics developed approximately twenty years ago as a result of an effort to distinguish different petroleum hydrocarbon products in the environment. During the past five to ten years, environmental forensic investigations have evolved beyond analyses of petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents and environmental fate and transport modelling, to include a wide range of scientific investigative tools and techniques. The techniques are applicable to any contaminant source, i.e. inorganic, organic, metals, surface or subsurface water based contamination, etc.