Environmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at source. It can be defined as the study of the sources, reactions, transport, effects, and fates of chemical species in the air, soil, and water environments; and the effect of human activity on these. Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary science that includes atmospheric, aquatic and soil chemistry, as well as heavily relying on analytical chemistry and being related to environmental and other areas of science. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Science For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ... Green Chemistry is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. ... Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Earths atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... Soil is material capable of supporting plant life. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter; c. ... Interdisciplinary work is that which integrates concepts across different disciplines. ... Atmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earths atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. ... Aquatic chemistry is the study of chemical reactions in aqueous solutions, including acid-base reactions, redox reactions, and precipitation-dissolution reactions. ... Analytical chemistry is the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure. ... Environmental science is the study of the interactions between biological components of the environmentand the physical, chemical components, with the focus on the environment pollution and degradation related mainly due to human acivities, and the impact of the environment on biodivesity, local and global development and sustainability. ...

Environmental chemistry involves first understanding how the uncontaminated environment works, which chemicals in what concentrations are present naturally, and with what affects. Without this it would be impossible to accurately study the affects humans have on the environment through the release of chemicals. A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ...

Terminology

Environmental chemists use a particular set of terms that help them describe what is happening to a chemical species in the environment. These include: Chemist Julie Perkins of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory pours from a Florence flask. ...

• Contaminant: A substance that is present in nature due to human activity, that would not otherwise be there.

• Pollutant: A substance that has a detrimental impact on the environment it is in, by being present in larger quantities than the natural abundance because of human activities.

• Receptor: The medium or organism affected by the pollutant or contaminant.

• Sink: A medium or species that that retains and interacts with the pollutant.

Other concepts that are used in environmental chemistry include dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD)... The Lachine Canal, in Montreal, is badly polluted Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants, or the substances so released. ... Look up Substance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Substance may refer to: Substance theory: in philosophy, substance is that element of an object without which it would not exist, or what exists only by itself (causa sui) Chemical substance: in chemistry, a substance is an element, compound with uniform composition. ... Pollutants are substances which directly or indirectly damage us or the environment. ... Receptor may refer to: In telecommunication, a receiver. ... Many modern sinks are made of stainless steel In plumbing, a sink is a bowl-shaped fixture, usually made of porcelain (or, especially in the kitchen, stainless steel), that is used for washing hands or small objects such as dishes, nylons, socks or underwear. ... Oxygen saturation is a relative measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium. ... In environmental chemistry, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is commonly used to indirectly measure the amount of organic compounds in water. ...

Applications

Environmental chemistry is used by the Environment Agency (in England and Wales), the Environmental Protection Agency (in the United States), and other environmental agencies and research bodies around the world to detect and identify the nature and source of pollutants. These can include: (see also the List of environmental organizations) The Environment Agency (Welsh: Asiantaeth yr Amgylchedd) of England and Wales was created by the Environment Act 1995, along with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom and England, see British Isles (terminology). ... EPA redirects here. ...

• Heavy metal contamination of land by industry. These can then be transported into water flow and be taken up by living organisms.
• Nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate leaching from agricultural land into water courses, which can lead to algal blooms and eutrophication.

Heavy metals, in chemistry, are chemical elements of a particular range of atomic weights. ... A red tide resulting from a dinoflagellate bloom discoloring the water on the right An algal bloom is a relatively rapid increase in the population of (usually) phytoplankton algae in an aquatic system. ... Eutrophication is apparent as increased turbidity in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, imaged from orbit. ...

Methods

Quantitative chemical analysis is a key part of environmental chemistry. A quantitative property is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measured. ... Analytical chemistry is the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure. ...

References

• Stanley E. Manahan. 1991. Environmental Chemistry, Fifth edition.
• Julian E Andrews, Peter Brimblecombe, Tim Jickells, Peter Liss, Brian Reid, An Introduction to Environmental Chemistry, Blackwell Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0632059052
• Stanley E Manahan, Environmental Chemistry, CRC Press, 2004, ISBN 1566706335

External links

• Important publications in Environmental chemistry.

// Foundations Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique Guyton de Morveau, L. B.; Lavoisier, A. L.; Berthollet, C. L.; de Fourcroy, A. F. Méthode de Nomenclature Chimique, Paris, 1787, available in English as Chymical Nomenclature. ...