Environmental Forensics
"What is it? Where did it come from? And, is it mine?"

This newly updated program is designed for LSRPs and other environmental professionals who are seeking an introduction to environmental forensics methods with an emphasis on real world applications. The course is structured around environmental media, including groundwater, storm water, sediments, and soil. Course instructors will provide an overview of both introductory methods and options for more complex statistical analyses and data visualization tools. Case studies will illustrate best practices for exploring data and developing lines of evidence that support arguments for source apportionment, cost allocation, and site-specific background screening levels in both regulatory and litigation contexts.

Attendees will learn how to tailor sampling designs to provide information that is amenable to environmental forensics, and will develop a greater understanding of the types of data evaluation methods that are commonly used, along with their strengths and limitations.

Working knowledge of environmental chemistry and introductory statistics is desirable but not a pre-requisite.

• Vocabulary of environmental forensics – bridging regulatory, legal, and technical disciplines
• Natural source zone depletion (NSZD) at hydrocarbon sites
• Weathering profile for LNAPL
• Integrating supporting lines of evidence: dissolved gas, O2, remote sensing data, redox state and bacterial activity, and more
• Geochemical fingerprinting of PAHs
• Data visualization: bivariate plots, principal components analysis, mixing/unmixing models
• Case study of a large multiparty CERCLA site
• Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) – state of the science on libraries of source profiles
• Multicriteria decision analysis