Assessing Organism and Community Responses

Abstract

Many of the chemicals in the environment are naturally derived from compounds in plants, petroleum oils, or minerals in rocks. However, their chemical composition, concentration, and distribution through the environment have been altered by humans, usually as a result of an economic incentive (e.g., mining).

Fluorescent Hydrophobic Test Strips with Sterically Integrated Molecular Rotors for the Detection of Hydrocarbons in Water and Soil with an Embedded Optical Read-Out

“…In North American active gas production areas, petroleum derivatives have been detected up to 64 mg L –1 in immediate vicinity of the petroleum well and 25 mg L –1 at a distance of 1 km. , Short-term pollution with petroleum derivatives, including n -hexane, benzenes, or other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, leads to environmental degradation and poses major risks to the health of humans and aquatic life . However, chronic exposure from recent petroleum extraction techniques is something new, and the resulting medium- or long-term effects are still being studied. − The need for long-term monitoring and high-quality, easy-to-use tests for use in resource-limited settings is of utmost importance, as this could guarantee water quality . Certified methods such as gravimetric analysis or gas chromatography with flame ionization detection for laboratory detection of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) require an extraction step into a non-polar solvent and a subsequent analysis.…”