Environmental Monitoring   (552S2)

Academic year:

2024/2025.

Attendance requirements:

There are no requirements.

ECTS:

9

Study level:

Study program:

Teacher:

Konstantin B. Ilijević, Ph.D.
assistant professor, Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski trg 12-16, Beograd

Assistants:

—

Hours of instruction:

Weekly: four hours of lectures + two hours of exercises + three hours of labwork (4+2+3)

Goals:

Monitoring of soil, water and air is a legal obligation arising from the legislation of both the Republic of Serbia and the European Union. Monitoring is, by its nature, more complex than classical analytical measurements or analyzes performed within scientific research, therefore conducting monitoring requires additional professional development. The objective of the course is to provide students with additional knowledge and competences that will enable them to find employment more easily and successfully work in accredited laboratories (which are an indispensable element of any monitoring program). The course should provide the necessary knowledge related to the validation and verification of analytical methods (determination of measurement uncertainty, detection and quantification limits, accuracy, reproducibility and precision of the method), which will be determined not only theoretically, but also through practical examples.

Outcome:

The student is able to successfully complete the accreditation process for a given analytical method, use standard procedures, determine and pass judgment on environmental quality parameters. Upon completion of the course, students will be familiar not only with the principles of basic instrumental analytical techniques which are routinely used in environmental monitoring, but also with their limitations, disadvantages and benefits. The student is able to perform all operations within the monitoring of eco-chemical parameters in accordance with best laboratory practice which include: sampling, sample preparation, sample analysis, processing and interpretation of measurement results.

Teaching methods:

Lectures, theoretical exercises, labwork, semester papers.

Extracurricular activities:

Collecting of the literature, preparing reports and presentation, learning for exams.

Coursebooks:

Main coursebooks:

1. I. Gržetić, K. Ilijević: Lecture notes, 2018.
2. I. Gržetić: Obezbeđenje kvaliteta i upravlřanje kvalitetom na projektima i zadacima sa analitičkom praksom, Tehnika - Kvalitet, Standardizacija i Metrologija, 2002, Vol. 2, 1-14.
3. Priručnik za izračunavanje merne nesigurnosti u laboratorijama, Eptisa, 2003.
4. Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement, ISO, Geneva, 1993.
5. Guide for Determination of Detection Limit (DL) and Quantification Limit (QL), NETCHEM projekat i Hemijski fakultet UB, 2018.

Supplementary coursebooks:

1. EC Joined research centre: Refenece document on General Principles of Monitoring, Institute for prospective technological studies, 2002, 123 pp.
2. IMPEL: Best Practice in Compliance Monitoring, The European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law, 2001, 49 pp.

Additional material:

—

Lectures:

10 points (4 hours a week)

Syllabus:

1. Who performs monitoring and why?
2. Frequency and presentation of monitoring results.
3. Calculation of total emissions (canal, diffuse and fugitive).
4. Values below detection limit.
5. The difference between direct measurements and surrogate parameters.
6. Mass balance.
7. Calculations and emission factors.
8. Assessment of compliance with the maximum emission limit.
9. Definition of measurement errors (absolute, relative, random, systematic error) and descriptive statistics.
10. Normal distribution and deviations from normal distribution.
11. Rejection of results with a large error (outliers).
12. Instrumental methods (AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS).
13. Instrumental methods (GC, GC-MS, HPLC).
14. Instrumental methods (XRF and NAA).
15. Factors to consider when choosing a method.
16. Decomposition of solid samples.
17. Digestions of solid samples in open systems using acids.
18. Microwave digestion.
19. Dry ashing.
20. The process of preparing solid samples prior to digestion.
21. Organization and methods of sampling / sampling of soil.
22. Surface water sampling.
23. Advantages and disadvantages of passive water sampling.
24. Sampling of sediments.
25. Sampling of air.
26. Water, air and soil eco-chemical parameters.
27. Air monitoring.
28. Water monitoring.
29. Soil monitoring.
30. Repeatability and reproducibility.
31. Control charts.
32. Measurement uncertainty type A.
33. Measurement uncertainty type B.
34. Method validation.

Exercises:

10 points (2 hours a week)

Syllabus:

1. Analytical error and basics of statistical data processing.
2. General principles of monitoring (tasks and practical examples).
3. Reproducibility.
4. Measurement uncertainty.
5. Selection and validation of the analytical method.
6. Determination of detection limit (DL) and quantification limit (QL) web accessed remote instrumental analytical laboratories (WARIAL).

Labwork:

10 points (3 hours a week)

Syllabus:

1. Introduction with the task of the project.
2. Collection of literature.
3. Sampling / preparation of the laboratory for conducting the research / experiment.
4. Laboratory work.
5. Preparation of the report.
6. Presentation of reports, discussion of results and evaluation of the project.

Semester papers:

20 points

Oral exam:

50 points