Presented March 12, 2020- Presentation Slides

“Applying Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis to Document Contaminant Degradation and Distinguish Sources” by Dr. Paul Hatzinger

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) is increasingly applied as a tool to detect, understand, and quantify biological and abiotic degradation of contaminants, including chlorinated solvents, propellants, explosives, and fuel additives, among others. An important feature of CSIA is that it can allow degradative losses of contaminants to be distinguished from those caused by non-destructive processes such as dilution, dispersion, and sorption. In some instances, dominant degradative mechanisms can also be determined using CSIA. This presentation covered the basics of stable isotope analysis and provide theoretical and real-world examples of how CSIA data can be used to document degradation of a variety of contaminants. A second main area of application for CSIA is contaminant forensics. This approach is relevant for materials that have both natural and synthetic sources (e.g., perchlorate and nitrate), as well as synthetic chemicals that have different manufacturing processes or have experienced different levels of degradation over time. The presentation examined the current state-of-the art in forensic evaluation of contaminants, with a specific focus on perchlorate and distinguishing sources of chlorinated solvents during vapor intrusion studies.

Dr. Paul Hatzinger is the director of the Biotechnology Development and Applications Group at APTIM. Dr. Hatzinger has more than 25 years of experience in contaminant biodegradation, bioremediation, and forensics. His research group has been instrumental in the development and field application of new remedial approaches for several contaminants of concern to the Department of Defense, including perchlorate, 1,2-dibromoethane (EDB), N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and nitramine explosives (RDX, HMX). Dr. Hatzinger has also conducted extensive research on the application of CSIA to determine the sources and fate of perchlorate in the environment, and he maintains a strong interest in furthering the use of stable isotope technologies for environmental applications. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and has served as the principal investigator on research grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), SERDP, ESTCP, US Navy, Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), and US