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Integration of Traditional and Forensic Environmental Investigations
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This chapter outlines methods for tracking down and dating chemical spills of chlorinated solvents (industrial degreasers that can contaminate soil and groundwater). Investigators can pinpoint when and where contamination happened by testing not just for the solvents themselves, but also for related "fingerprint" chemicals that tag along—including PFAS ("forever chemicals"), microplastics, and other industrial byproducts. This matters because accurately tracing contamination sources helps identify responsible parties and guide cleanup efforts, protecting communities from exposure to chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems.
Chapter 5 describes a methodology for investigating a chlorinated solvent release, which includes the analysis and integration of existing historical and chemical data with a forensic intrusive investigation. The media and sampling location optimization in soil, soil vapor, groundwater and the capillary fringe for the primary chlorinated solvents and non-targeted diagnostic indicators in a forensic investigation are described. The incorporation of these results with the detected solvent stabilizer and manufacturing impurities introduced in Chapters 3 and 4 is described. The application of non-targeted diagnostic indicators detected with chlorinated solvents for source and age dating include polychlorinated biphenyls, furans and dioxins, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, microplastics, colloids, and nanoparticles. The forensic use of timestamps with solvent and diagnostic indicators and their integration into a chlorinated solvent investigation are described.
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