Date:8/30/2012

between 10 and 14 September. CSI does not stand here for "Crime Scene Investigation", well known from several TV-series, but for "Compound Specific Isotope Analysis". However, both use modern techniques to follow traces which lead in the end to the "perpetrator". Following the traces of organic pollutants is one of the greatest challenges in environmental sciences today. Chemicals can enter the environment by chance or on purpose. Following their traces is an important prerequisite for effective environmental protection. For example, chemicals from different producers and suppliers are compared to establish who is responsible for causing damage. And this finally leads us to the UFZ's Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, whose work focuses on this area and is hosting the CSI:ENVIRONMENT training course. "With stable carbon isotopes we not only want to investigate the degradation of common groundwater contaminants, but further develop the methods so that for example the fate of chloroacetamide herbicides in planted wetlands or the photochemical degradation of the petrol additive MTBE in the atmosphere can be investigated. As these substances can be toxic, it is important to find out whether and how these substances may enter the environment," explains Dr. Ivonne Nijenhuis of the UFZ. The training of young isotope researchers in networks such as 'CSI:ENVIRONMENT' is therefore making an important contribution for the next few decades.

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Contact: Tilo Arnhold presse@ufz.de 49-341-235-1635 Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres Source:Eurekalert

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