regulatory agencies, and at best are instrumental in developing profitable pollution control products and processes Some background in environmental chemistry should be part of the training of every chemistry student. The ecologically illiterate chemist can be a very dangeror species. Chemists must be aware of the possible effects their products and processes might have upon the environment. Furthermore, any serious attempt to solve environmental problems must involve the extensive use of chemicals and chemical processes ol t here are some things that environmental chemistry is not. It is not just the same old chemistry with a different cover and title. Because it deals with natural systems this har re complicated and difficult than"pure chemistry Students sometimes find rd to grasp, and some traditionalist faculty find it impossible. Accustomed to the clear-cut concepts of relatively simple, well-defined, though often unrealistic systems, they may find environmental chemistry to be poorly delineated, vague, and confusing. More often than not, it is impossible to come up with a simple answer to an environmental chemistry problem. But, building on an ever-increasing body of knowledge, the environmental chemist can make educated guesses as to how environmental systems will behave Chemical Analysis in Environmental Chemistry One of environmental chemistrys major challenges is the determination of the nature and quantity of specific pollutants in the environment. Thus, chemical analysis is a vital first step in environmental chemistry research. The difficulty of analyzing for many environmental pollutants can be awesome. Significant levels of air pollutants may consist of less than a microgram per cubic meter of air. For many water pollutants, one part per million by weight (essentially I milligram per liter)is a very high value. Environmentally significant levels of some pollutants may be only a few parts per trillion. Thus, it is obvious that the chemical analyses used to study some environmental systems require a very low limit of detection However, environmental chemistry is not the as analytical chemistry which is only one of the many subdisciplines that are involved in the study of the chemistry of the environment. Although a"brute-force" approach to environmental control, involving attempts to monitor each environmental niche for every possible mutant, increases employment for chemists and raises sales of analytical instru- ments, it is a wasteful way to detect and solve environmental problems, degenerating into a mindless exercise in the collection of marginally useful numbers. Those esponsible for environmental protection must be smarter than that. In order for chemistry to make a maximum contribution to the solution of environmental problems, the chemist must work toward an understanding of the nature, reactions and transport of chemical species in the environment. Analytical chemistry is fundamental and crucial part of that endeavor Environmental Biochemistry The ultimate environmental concern is that of life itself. The discipline that deals specifically with the effects of environmental chemical species on life is C 2001 CRC Press LlCregulatory agencies, and at best are instrumental in developing profitable pollution￾control products and processes. Some background in environmental chemistry should be part of the training of every chemistry student. The ecologically illiterate chemist can be a very dangerous species. Chemists must be aware of the possible effects their products and processes might have upon the environment. Furthermore, any serious attempt to solve environmental problems must involve the extensive use of chemicals and chemical processes. There are some things that environmental chemistry is not. It is not just the same old chemistry with a different cover and title. Because it deals with natural systems, it is more complicated and difficult than “pure” chemistry. Students sometimes find this hard to grasp, and some traditionalist faculty find it impossible. Accustomed to the clear-cut concepts of relatively simple, well-defined, though often unrealistic systems, they may find environmental chemistry to be poorly delineated, vague, and confusing. More often than not, it is impossible to come up with a simple answer to an environmental chemistry problem. But, building on an ever-increasing body of knowledge, the environmental chemist can make educated guesses as to how environmental systems will behave. Chemical Analysis in Environmental Chemistry One of environmental chemistry’s major challenges is the determination of the nature and quantity of specific pollutants in the environment. Thus, chemical analysis is a vital first step in environmental chemistry research. The difficulty of analyzing for many environmental pollutants can be awesome. Significant levels of air pollutants may consist of less than a microgram per cubic meter of air. For many water pollutants, one part per million by weight (essentially 1 milligram per liter) is a very high value. Environmentally significant levels of some pollutants may be only a few parts per trillion. Thus, it is obvious that the chemical analyses used to study some environmental systems require a very low limit of detection. However, environmental chemistry is not the same as analytical chemistry, which is only one of the many subdisciplines that are involved in the study of the chemistry of the environment. Although a “brute-force” approach to environmental control, involving attempts to monitor each environmental niche for every possible pollutant, increases employment for chemists and raises sales of analytical instru￾ments, it is a wasteful way to detect and solve environmental problems, degenerating into a mindless exercise in the collection of marginally useful numbers. Those responsible for environmental protection must be smarter than that. In order for chemistry to make a maximum contribution to the solution of environmental problems, the chemist must work toward an understanding of the nature, reactions, and transport of chemical species in the environment. Analytical chemistry is a fundamental and crucial part of that endeavor. Environmental Biochemistry The ultimate environmental concern is that of life itself. The discipline that deals specifically with the effects of environmental chemical species on life is © 2001 CRC Press LLC