ENSC 325b-3: Toxicants in the Environment – Sampling and Analysis

Instructor: Dr. Zhi-Qing Lin

Office: 2165 Science West

Telephone: 618-650-2650

Email: ZHLIN@SIUE.EDU

Lecture Schedule and Location: Tuesdays, 2:00 pm - 4:50 pm, Alumni Hall 0201

Office Hours: By appointment

Course Description:

As the second part of “Toxicants in the Environment” (ENSC 325), this course includes both lectures and labs, with a focus on the basic concepts and techniques of environmental sampling, sample preparation, and chemical analyses of environmental toxicants of current concern. Environment measurements, data collection and data analysis and interpretation will also be discussed. The objectives of this course are: (1) Students will become familiar with the basic concepts and principles of environmental sampling and analyses; (2) Students will gain the basic technical skills for environmental measurements and chemical analyses; (3) Students will obtain essential hands-on experience with environmental sampling in the field and chemical analyses in the lab.

Prerequisites: ENSC 325a or consent of Instructor

Credit Hours: 3

Textbook: Sampling and Analysis of Environmental Chemical Pollutants (2^nd edition), Emma P. Popek, 2017, Elsevier. Supplementary materials will also be provided on selected topics by the Instructor.

Grading System:

There are two midterm and one final exams. Each exam accounts for 30%. The assignment accounts for 10%. The total point is 100. A: >90; B: 80-90; C:70-80; D: 60-70; F:<60.

Assignments will provide opportunities for students to practice and better understand the materials discussed in classes. Late assignments will be marked down 10% a day, unless arrangements are made with the instructor prior to the due date. Assignments more than 5 days late will not be accepted.

Attendance Policy:

Regular prompt attendance is required for success in this course. Only University approved absences will be accepted. However, excessive absences may result in a 10% reduction of your overall grade or being dropped from the course.

Academic Misconduct:

"Acts of academic misconduct for which students are subject to sanctions include, without limitation, plagiarism, cheating, failure or refusal to follow clinical practice standards, falsifying or manufacturing scientific or educational data and/or representing manufactured data to be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or research, and soliciting, aiding, abetting, concealing, or attempting such act. Plagiarism is defined as including, without limitation, the act of representing the work of another as one's own. Plagiarism may consist of copying, paraphrasing, or otherwise using the written, electronic, or oral work of another without proper acknowledgement or consent of the source or presenting oral, electronic, or written material prepared by another as one's own. Plagiarism also includes using information from electronic resources, including the Internet, without the use of proper citations." (SIUE Student Academic Code)

In the event of academic misconduct, the student is subject to a number of penalties, including a failing grade for a plagiarized assignment or for a course.

Students with Disabilities:

Students needing accommodations because of medical diagnosis or major life impairment will need to register with Accessible Campus Community & Equitable Student Support (ACCESS) and complete an intake process before accommodations will be given. The ACCESS office is located in the Student Success Center, Room 1270. You can also reach the office by e-mail at myaccess@siue.edu or by calling (618) 650-3726. For more information on policies, procedures, or necessary forms, please visit the ACCESS website at www.siue.edu/access.

Lecture Schedules:

Week 1: Course introduction; Safety and recording of information in the field and laboratory

Week 2-3: The sample and the error; Statistics in sampling and chemical analyses

Week 4: Quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC); Midterm I.

Week 5-6: Project planning and the sampling and analysis plan

Week 7-8: Practical approach to sampling, including wastes, water, sediment, soil, air and biological samples

Week 9: Field sampling and lab sample preparation

Week 10: Lab practice and demonstration, including acid digestion for metal analysis and sample extraction for organic pollutants; Midterm II.

Week 11-12: Chemical analyses of anions, metals and metalloids and lab demonstration, including IC and AAS

Week 13-14: Chemical analyses of pesticides, PAHs and other organic pollutants and lab demonstration, including GC and HPLC

Week 15: Data quality assessment

Week 16: Final examination week