Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry for Analyzing the Fates of Heavy Metals from Energy Industry in Western Canada

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Energy industry contributes over 25% to the prairie provinces’ gross industrial outputs. Development of energy industry is currently associated with a number of environmental concerns, such as hazardous waste generation, soil contamination, and water pollution. A large amount of heavy metals have been released during the exploration, processing, transportation and consumption of energetic fuels. After being discharged, heavy metal pollutants can migrate through atmosphere, soil and water and contaminate surrounding environment, resulting in impacts and risks on human and wildlife. Pollutant behaviors in the environment are governed by a number of interactive factors. These complexities can be intensified due to the heterogeneity of energy activities and environmental factors in cold regions. The existing knowledge gained without considering these complexities is inadequate and often incapable for supporting assessment and management of these issues in Western Canada. To address such challenge, an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) instrument is required to quantify the trace-level heavy metals in the surrounding environment. The objectives of this research include: (a) to develop an ICP-MS method to determine the content of trace level metals in the environment influenced by energy industry; (b) to explore the transport and accumulation of heavy metals in the surrounding environment; (c) to promote application of the developed methodologies to related environmental problems in energy industry of western Canada.