Tracking Acrylamide Source from Polyacrylamide Gel - Research Proposal Example

Tracking Acrylamide Source from Polyacrylamide gel that used in Hydraulic Fracturing by Stable Isotopes Method al affiliation: Date Abstract Stable isotope ratio analyses of Carbon-13 that is a non-traditional isotope is seen to be a promising tool for tracing the source of a given compound that include acrylamide in this case. Distinct isotopic signatures could be observed between various sources. Hence, they could be exploited in identifying the source of pollution. Contamination of soil and water by acrylamide released from poly-acrylamide degradation from hydraulic fracturing as friction agent is seen to be a major concern. In this case, carbon stable isotope ratios will be used in tracing the deposition as well as the transportation of this acrylamide release from the unknown source, and the aim is to determine if the source is either from hydraulic fracturing field or other industries. Key words: Acrylamide; Isotope; Carbon; Isotopic signature; Contamination. 1.0. Introduction 1.1. Background Acrylamide is known to be an industrial chemical that is majorly used in poly-acrylamide production. In this case, the poly-acrylamide is primarily applied as flocculants for treating industrial and municipal effluents as well as clarifying drinking water (Haberman 2002; O’Neil et al. 2006; Abdelmagid 1982; EPA 2006).The release of acrylamide to the environment could be during its application and production. The main source of acrylamide contamination in drinking water is from the residual monomers that are released from the coagulants of poly-acrylamide (Abdelmagid 1982; Cavalli et al. 2004; EPA 2006c; WHO 2003).It can as well be released from genetic lab, hydraulic fracturing field, dye and plastic industries. It is very rare to identify acrylamide in atmospheric samples due to its high water solubility and low pressure (WHO 2003).It is expected to see acrylamide being highly mobile in water and soil(WHO 2002) and it is known to be more prone to biodegradation both in surface water and soils(WHO 2008).Acrylamide is known to be found in at least 3 of 1,699 hazardous waste sites suggested to be included on the EPA National Priorities List(NPL(HazDat 2007).The evaluated number of sites for acrylamide however is unknown. Both bacterial and fungal species that are found in the soil have the capacity of degrading poly-acrylamide. The degradation could be rapid in the laboratory and it is observed to be slower in the in the field. Ultraviolet radiations that come from sunlight can degrade poly-acrylamide in the environment .Tilling as well as other shearing forces could also degrade poly-acrylamide in the environment. When this poly-acrylamide is degraded, it can have adverse effects to living organisms including human. Acrylamide is considered to be a carcinogen and it has the potential of causing nervous damage (Lewis 2002; Gamboa et al. 2003).Mainly, the exposure takes place via inhalation routes, dermal contact as well as ingestion (Lewis 2000; Hirvonen et al. 2010). Eating of foods with acrylamide tends to be one of the usual exposure methods to the public. (WHO 2002). The exposure to acrylamide could be also as a result of ingesting drinking water that is treated with poly-acrylamide and this drinking water could be having residual monomer. Also this drinking water could be in contact with products with acrylamide like gouting agents (WHO 2003; HSDB. 2009; Hogervorst et al. 2008) The role of poly-acrylamide in fracturing is to enable fracture fluids to be injected at a rate that is optimum as well as pressure by minimizing friction (Hazen and Sawyer 2009). Exposure of humans to fracking chemicals could be through chemicals which have spilled and paved way to the drinking water sources. Some hydraulic fracturing fluids have chemicals considered to be hazardous wastes. It is unconscionable that EPA permits these chemicals to be directly injected into drinking water sources even if they are diluted (Hazen and Sawyer 2009). In this regard, the study will attempt to track acrylamide source from the poly-acrylamide gel that is used in the hydraulic fracturing using stable isotope method. The major aim of forensic chemical analyses involves various samples identification and comparison in order to establish the link that exist between the sample at the crime scene to the samples associated with that particular location or person. In this case, the sample to be analyzed in the study is soil samples from the suspected location. The results generated from these samples using stable isotope method will be compared with the polyacrylamide gel that is used in the hydraulic fracturing .With the wide availability of automated instrumentation, highly specific mass spectrometry and spectroscopic –based analytical techniques in several forensic sciences laboratory, these analytical goals could be achieved (Meier-Augenstein and Fraser 2008; Thomson and Black 2007; Robert and Blackledge 2007). Incase two spectroscopic and chromatographic data correspond, it could be concluded that the entities are indistinguishable chemically. However, there could be an argument brought forward by defense team that the samples which are indistinguishable could be identical chemically but this doesn’t mean that they are the same (Meier-Augenstein 2010). To resolve such an issue, multivariate stable isotope abundance analysis could be used and they could provide an additional independent variable set. Hence, this could generally increase the discriminatory forensic analysis power (NicDaeid and Meier-Augenstein 2008; Werner and Brand 2001; Sharp 2007). In the current study, IRMS that is non-scanning magnetic sector instruments will be used to obtain the data that will be used to answer the research objectives. In this case, the history or origin of acrylamide will be determined by measuring its characteristic isotope (signature) and this will be based on isotope abundance measurements (Bowen et al.2005; Bowen and Revenaugh 2003). The aim of this is to reject or confirm the hypothesis regarding the source of the acrylamide sample. This application will require the stable isotopic composition knowledge of the authentic control sample and this could be obtained from the database whereby the information regarding the background of the stable isotope control could be obtained. The acrylamide sample stable isotope signature will then be compared to a reference data set (Meier-Augenstein, et al.1996; Qi et al. 2003) In this case, there will be an affirmation if stable isotopic composition matches the acceptance criteria that was established from authentic observations collections 1.2. Objectives: To discriminate and track the origin of acrylamide contamination To determine if the contamination of acrylamide is caused by hydraulic fracturing or other industry To determine if stable isotopic composition matches the acceptance criteria that was established from authentic observations collections 1.3. The Research Questions How can we discriminate and track the origin of contamination? Is the contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing or other industry? 1.4. Significance of the study In the current study, IRMS will be used to obtain the data that will be used to answer the research objectives. In this case, the history or origin of acrylamide will be determined by measuring its characteristic isotope (signature) and this will be based on isotope abundance measurements. The aim of this is to reject or confirm the hypothesis regarding the source of the acrylamide sample. The pollutants impacts on the environment are considered to be of great research significance. 2.0. Material and methods 2.1. Data collection and sampling The sampling design will be purposive A sample of soil will be collected from the selected field that is suspected to be contaminated and analyzed for the acrylamide concentrations as well as the stable isotope ratios. The soil samples will be collected at the depth of 5cm in three separate 1-m2 areas(Caulfield et al.,2003) The samples will be wrapped in aluminum foil after collection. It will then be placed in a polythene bag (1-gallon Ziplock freezer bag) at 4oC with moisture conditions similar to that in the field (Adams and Grierson, 2001). It will be shipped to the analytical laboratory after being stored in a cooler on ice. In the laboratory, the samples will be freeze-dried, then ground with a mortar and pestle. The sample will then be sieved on a 250um net in order to eliminate large particles The samples will later be ground finely and stored dry at room temperature in a freezer or desiccators. 2.2. Data analysis In the laboratory, Neputune MC-ICP-MS2 will be used to perform the analysis whereby one carbon isotope (13C3 ) will be used. The carbon isotope ratio will be expressed relative to a reference material that is certified. Soil sample isotopes will be weighed tehn placed into tin capsules The history or origin of acrylamide will be determined by measuring its characteristic isotope (signature) and this will be based on isotope abundance measurements. The acrylamide sample stable isotope signature will then be compared to a reference data set. It will be determined if stable isotopic composition matches the acceptance criteria that was established from authentic observations collections The stable isotope ratios will be measured relative to international known standards The total acrylamide concentration will be determined through isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. 2.3. Quality control and assurance It could be very hard to be able to distinguish between two chemically identical substances since they came from different sources. This can be due to sample preparation procedures never resulted to sample recovery. In order to avoid such a drawback, the procedures of sample preparation used in the SIA process should be validated (Mansuy et al.1997; Meier-Augenstein et al.1994; Merritt and Hayes 1994). The certified reference material (CRM) will be analyzed together with the samples (Casale et al.2006; Fry 2006). The standards will be run at the start, at the middle as well as at the end of each run and a correction will be applied for monitoring any drift in repeated measurements. More than ten deltas difference drift that will be at the start, middle and at the end of run will be monitored. In this case, the samples will be repeated accordingly (Rauch et al.2007) 3.0. Estimated Budget Charges Amount in US dollars Sample collection and analytical method 5000 Laboratory Reagents and solvents 1500 Laboratory materials and equipment 6000 Stationary and write up 1500 Salaries 5000 Miscellaneous expenses 3000 Total 22000 References Habermann CE. 2002. Acrylamide. In: Kirk-Othmer encylcopedia of chemical technology. John Wiley & Sons, 1-22. http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/emrw/9780471238966/kirk/article/acryhabe.a01/current/pdf. June 08, 2009. ONeil MJ, Heckelman PE, Koch CB, et al. 2006. Acrylamide. In: ONeil MJ, Heckelman PE, KochCB, eds. The Merck index. An encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals. 14th ed. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co., Inc., 22-23. Abdelmagid HM, Tabatabai MA. 1982. Decomposition of acrylamide in soils. J Environ Qual 11(4):701-704. EPA. 2006. National recommended water quality criteria. Washington, DC: Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/wqcriteria.html. August 3, 2011. Cavalli S, Polesello S, Saccani G. 2004. Determination of acrylamide in drinking water by large-volume direct injection and ion-exclusion chromatography-mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 1039(1-2):155-159. WHO. 2003. Acrylamide in drinking-water. World Health Organization. WHO/SDE/WSH/03.04/71.http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/acrylamide.pdf. August 3, 2011. WHO. 2002. Health implications of acrylamide in food. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/chem/en/acrylamide_full.pdf. August 3, 2011. WHO. 2008. Guidelines for drinking-water quality. 3rd edition. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/gdwq3/en/. August 3, 2011. HazDat. 2007. Acrylamide. HazDat Database: ATSDR’s Hazardous Substance Release and Health Effects Database. Atlanta, GA: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Lewis RJ. 2000. Acrylamide. In: Saxs dangerous properties of industrial materials. 10th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 66-67. HSDB. 2009. Acrylamide. Hazardous Substances Data Bank. National Library of Medicine. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov. April 27, 2009. Hogervorst JG, Schouten LJ, Konings EJ, et al. 2008. Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of renal cell, bladder, and prostate cancer. Am J Clin Nutr 87(5):1428-1438. Hirvonen T, Kontto J, Jestoi M, et al. 2010. Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of cancer among Finnish male smokers. Cancer Causes Control 21(12):2223-2229. Gamboa da Costa G, Churchwell MI, Hamilton LP, et al. 2003. DNA adduct formation from acrylamide via conversion to glycidamide in adult and neonatal mice. Chem Res Toxicol 16(10):1328-1337. Hazen and Sawyer. 2009. Impact Assessment of Natural Gas Production in the New York City Water Supply Watershed. p.5. - See more at: http://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101#.VPmdoC60sU Adams, M.A., Grierson, P.F., 2001. Stable isotopes at natural abundance in terrestrial plant ecology and ecophysiology: an update. Plant Biol. 3, 299–310. Caulfield, M.J., Hao, H., Qiao, G.G., Solomon, D.H., 2003. Degradation on polyacrylamides. Part II. polyacrylamide gels. Polymer 44, 3817–3826. Meier-Augenstein, W. & Fraser, I. (2008). Forensic isotope analysis leads to identification of a mutilated murder victim, Science & Justice 48(3), 153–159. Thomson, T.J.T. & Black, S.M. (2007). Forensic Human Identification, CRC Press, Boca Raton. Robert, D. & Blackledge, Ed. (2007). Forensic Analysis on the Cutting Edge, JohnWiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken. Meier-Augenstein, W. (2010). Stable Isotope Forensics: An Introduction to the Forensic Application of Stable Isotope Analysis, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester. NicDaeid, N. & Meier-Augenstein, W. (2008). Feasibility of source identification of seized street drug samples by exploiting differences in isotopic composition at natural abundance level by GC/MS as compared to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), Forensic Science International 174(2–3), 259–261. Werner, R.A. & Brand, W.A. (2001). Referencing strategies and techniques in stable isotope ratio analysis,Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 15(7),501–519. Bowen, G.J., Chesson, L., Nielson, K., Cerling, T.E.& Ehleringer, J.R. (2005). Treatment methods for the determination of delta H-2 and delta O-18 of hair keratin by continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry,Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 19(17),2371–2378. Bowen, G.J. & Revenaugh, J. (2003). Interpolating the isotopic composition of modern meteoric precipitation,Water Resources Research 39(10), ARTN. 1299. Mansuy L., Philp R. P. & Allen J. (1997) Source identification of oil spills based on the isotopic compositionof individual components in weathered oil samples. Environm. Sc. & Techn., 31: 3417-3425. Meier-Augenstein W., Brand W., Hoffmann G. F. & Rating D. (1994) Bridging the information gap between isotope ratio mass spectrometry and conventional mass spectrometry. Biol. Mass Spectrom., 23: 376-378. Merritt D. A. & Hayes J. M. (1994) Factors controlling precision and accuracy in isotope-ratio-monitoring mass spectrometry. Anal. Chem., 66(14): 2336-2347. Casale, J., Casale, E., Collins, M., Morello, D.Cathapermal, S. & Panicker, S. (2006). Stable isotope analyses of heroin seized from the merchant vessel Pong Su, Journal of Forensic Sciences 51(3), 603–606. Rauch, E., Rummel, S., Lehn, C. & Buettner, A. (2007).Origin assignment of unidentified corpses by use of stable isotope ratios of light (bio-) and heavy (geo-) elements–a case report, Journal of Forensic Sciences 168, 215–218. Fry, B. (2006). Stable Isotope Ecology, Springer, New York. Sharp, Z.D. (2007). Principles of Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River. Meier-Augenstein, W., Watt, P.W. & Langhans, C.D.(1996). Influence of gas-chromatographic parameters on measurement of c-13/c-12 isotope ratios by gasliquid- chromatography combustion isotope ratio massspectrometry. 1, Journal of Chromatography A 752, 233–241. Qi, H.P., Coplen, T.B., Geilmann, H., Brand, W.A. & Bohlke, J.K. (2003). Two new organic reference materials for delta C-13 and delta N-15 measurements and a new value for the delta C-13 of NBS 22 oil, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 17(22),2483–2487. Read More