Oil Spill Environmental Forensics: Fingerprinting and Source Identification [Hardcover]

Zhendi Wang (Author), Scott Stout (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0123695236 | ISBN-13: 978-0123695239 | Edition: 1

Oil Spill Environmental Forensics provides a complete view of the various forensic techniques used to identify the source of an oil spill into the environment. The forensic procedures described within represent various methods from scientists throughout the world. The authors explore which analytical and interpretative techniques are best suited for a particular oil spill project.

This handy reference also explores the use of these techniques in actual environmental oil spills. Famous incidents discussed include the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989 and the Guanabara Bay, Brazil 2000. The authors chronicle both the successes and failures of the techniques used for each of these events.

Dr. Zhendi Wang is a senior research scientist and Head of Oil Spill Research of Environment Canada, working in the oil and toxic chemical spill research field. He has authored over 270 academic publications and won a number of national and international scientific honors and awards. Dr. Wang is a member of American Chemical Society (ACS), the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), and the International Society of Environmental Forensics (ISEF).

*International experts show readers the forensic techniques used in oil spill investigations
*Provides the theoretical basis and practical applications for investigative techniques
*Contains numerous case studies demonstrating proven techniques

Editorial Reviews

Review

Explored are the analytical and interpretative techniques best suited for a particular oil spill project. The book also examines the use of these techniques in actual environmental oil spills and chronicles the successes and failures of the techniques used for each of these events.-Petroleum Review, February 2007

Book Description

Essential tool for the identification and analysis of the best interpretative techniques for oil spill investigation

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 620 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1 edition (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0123695236
• ISBN-13: 978-0123695239
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!, February 4, 2007

By 

John R. Vacca "Tech Write Independent Reviewer" (Pomeroy, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oil Spill Environmental Forensics: Fingerprinting and Source Identification (Hardcover)

Are you a student or a scientist who is specializing in oil spill investigation forensics? If you are, then this book is for you. Authors Zhendi Wang, Scott Stout and other authors too numerous to mention, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that shows the forensic techniques used in oil spill investigations.

Wang, Stout and other authors, begin by describing the appropriate methods to characterize the oil spill site in terms of environmental and safety issues; the survey tools that have been developed to define and describe the spill site and the affected area; sampling considerations for spills where the source is known; and, for mystery spills, and data management techniques to capture, organize, and present the results of the investigation. In addition, the authors briefly focus their discussion on a description of biomarker chemistry. They also provide recommendations that are directed particularly toward the characterization of PASHs for forensic purposes of any petroleum-derived pollutant that is likely to be encountered mainly in the marine environment and that arrived there through accident or oversight. Then, they show you why that under most circumstances, stable isotope ratios are changed much less by environmental alteration than are molecular compositions. The authors then focus on the emerging European Committee for Standardization protocol. Next, they discuss the development and filed validation of a quantitative chemical fingerprinting mixing model approach that will improve the resolution and accuracy of statistical correlations when mixing. Then, they describe the development of tools that are used for oil hydrocarbon fingerprinting and spill source identification. The authors continue by focusing on the forensic chemistry of HFO. In addition, they address the fundamentals of hydrocarbon biodegradation, especially of the liquid fossil fuels, and attempts to bring together conclusions from two rather disparate areas of research. The authors also discuss the physical processes altering hydrocarbon composition that are associated with each of the main routes of hydrocarbon exposure for biota, which determines the degree of source-specific information retained by accumulated hydrocarbons. Finally, they provide the forensic investigator with a brief overview of present oil spill modeling capabilities. The authors then review remote sensors for forensic application to oil spills.

This most excellent book has looked at methods and factors affecting chemical fingerprints of petroleum to non-chemical oil spill identification techniques. Perhaps more importantly, this book will provide students and scientists with ready access to a comprehensive overview of oil spill fingerprinting and source identification!