CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2016
PosterPresentation
EnvironmentalSamplingandAnalysisTechniques
AmandaHagenandDeannaValdebenito
FacultyMentor:ScottMcConnell
Chemistry
AgricultureisprevalentinruralMcDonoughCounty.Chemicalsusedincropproductionmaybereleased
into the environment. Some of these chemicals are considered environmental pollutants and may
spread from their source through waterways. These pollutants can be tracked and quantified with
environmentalchemistrytechniques.Analysisofsamplesfromastratifiedregionwherecontamination
is suspected help determine if pollutants are within acceptable concentrations. Techniques are
describedforobtainingenvironmentalwatersamplesandthesignificanceofpropersamplecollections
methods. The use of proper sampling techniques ensure water samples accurately represent the
environment so pollutants can be tracked and properly remediated. These techniques were used to
obtain samples for atrazine analysis of Spring Lake and estrogen analysis of waterways surrounding a
confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). Atrazine is a common herbicide used in the United States
andwasfoundinSpringLakeasacontaminant.Ananalysisofthesurroundingwaterwaysmaybeused
to determine the source of atrazine that pollutes the lake. Confined animal feeding operations may
pollute waterways with accidental waste release. Estrogen, a growth hormone commonly used in
feeding operations, is a potentially important pollutant. An analysis of the waterways upstream and
downstreamfromtheCAFOshowhowtheoperationeffectsthesurroundingenvironment.