A gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) system for trace contaminant of emerging concern (TCEC) research

所要求的气相色谱串联质谱（GC-MS/MS）系统支持不列颠哥伦比亚省（UBC）Okanagan校区（UBCO）工程学院（SoE）三个环境工程系的必要设备要求。该小组的目标是了解新出现的关注的遗留痕量污染物（TCEC;例如，在传统和先进的水和废水处理厂（WWTP）工艺中，二恶英（二恶英和呋喃）和消毒副产物（DBPs）是一种重要的化学品。重要的是，它们必须准确量化，以符合扩建和新处理设施所考虑的工厂污水和生物固体流的法规。正在进行的项目的时间是至关重要的，因为大都会温哥华的液体废物服务部门正在开发新的工厂（即，北岸污水处理厂、西北兰利污水处理厂、艾奥纳岛污水处理厂），并考虑对其他两个现有工厂进行升级（即，在露露和安纳托里亚岛污水处理厂的新厌氧消化器）。这将在未来15年内接近40亿美元的资本基础设施投资，通过IRC计划和所要求的GC-MS/MS显着增强的结果可以为关键决策提供信息。该团队迫切需要一种具有高灵敏度的先进GC-MS/MS系统，以获得化学，生物化学和环境化合物的准确定量，定量下限，根据欧洲联盟和北美的TCEC和DBP报告水平，最好是十亿分之一（ppb）或更低。这在我们现有的设备上是不可能的。该设备将支持高素质人员（HQP）的培训，并使潜在的项目和合作伙伴关系，是遥不可及的许多工业和市政合作伙伴，由于无法在附近的GC-MS/MS。我们校园缺乏GC-MS/MS导致失去了与Okanagan工业合作伙伴的多个合作机会（例如，北部和中部奥肯那根地区，不列颠哥伦比亚省第一民族卫生局），并已造成重大的研究中断，包括HQP没有得到培训和延迟学生的毕业和出版物。目前，这三名共同研究者监督着大约30名HQP，该仪器的培训潜力可能高达50名HQP，包括SoE和科学学院内潜在用户团队的研究人员。在校园内拥有GC-MS/MS设施将允许对几乎所有传统的TCEC，DBP和生化化合物进行有效，可重复和及时的定量（与现有的分析设施相结合）。通过这些设备获得的技能将有助于HQP在私营和公共部门的各种工程和科学学科中获得工作，处理环境，生物化学和药物样品的分析（例如AECOM，Bureau Veritas，ALS Labs）。

The requested gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC--MS/MS) system supports an imperative equipment requirement of three Environmental Eng. faculty in the School of Eng. (SoE) at the University of British Columbia (UBC)'s Okanagan Campus (UBCO). The team aims to understand the fate/behaviour of legacy trace contaminants of emerging concern (TCEC; e.g., pharmaceuticals/personal care products, flame retardants, pesticides, dioxins, and furans) and disinfection-by-products (DBPs) in conventional and advanced water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes. It is vital that they are accurately quantified to comply with regulations under consideration for plant effluent and biosolids streams for expansions and new treatment facilities. Timing of on-going projects is crucial as Metro Vancouver's Liquid Waste Services Department is developing new plants (i.e., North shore WWTP, Northwest Langley WWTP, Iona Island WWTP) and considering upgrades to the other two existing plants (i.e., new anaerobic digesters at Lulu and Annacis Island WWTPs). This is approaching $4 billion of capital infrastructure investment over the next 15 years, and key decisions can be informed by the findings significantly enhanced through the IRC program and the requested GC-MS/MS. The team urgently needs an advanced GC--MS/MS system with high sensitivity to obtain accurate quantification of chemical, biochemical, and environmental compounds at low limit of quantitation, preferable parts per billion (ppb) or lower as per European Union and North American reporting level of TCEC and DBPs. This is currently impossible with our existing equipment. The equipment will support the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP) and enable the potential projects and partnerships that are out of reach for many industrial and municipal partners due to the unavailability of a GC-MS/MS in the vicinity. The lack of a GC-MS/MS on our campus has resulted in the loss of multiple collaboration opportunities with industrial partners in the Okanagan (e.g., Regional Districts of the North and Central Okanagan, BC First Nations Health Authority) and has caused significant research interruptions, including HQP not being trained and delays to students' graduations and publications. The three co-investigators currently supervise approximately 30 HQP and the training potential of the instrument can be as high as 50 HQP including the researchers in the teams of the potential users within the SoE and the Faculty of Sciences. Having an GC-MS/MS facility on Campus will allow the efficient, repeatable, and timely quantification of nearly all legacy TCEC, DBPs and biochemical compounds (in tandem with existing analytical facilities). The skills gained with this equipment will help HQP to secure jobs in the private and public sector in various engineering and science disciplines dealing with analysis of environmental, biochemical and pharmaceutical samples (e.g. AECOM, Bureau Veritas, ALS Labs).