A review of Non-targeted screening approaches to monitoring groundwater

Abstract

Abstract BAKER, AURORA. A review of non-targeted screening approaches to monitoring groundwater. (Under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Nichols and Dr. Melanie Hedgespeth.) Monitoring groundwater for non-regulated contaminants has proven to be an experimental area for researchers. Currently, no standard approach has been identified for monitoring groundwater for non-regulated contaminants. Given the discharged items, such as pharmaceuticals and other waste products that have entered groundwater by ways of storage tanks of gasoline or other chemicals, septic systems, uncontrolled hazardous wastes, landfills, atmospheric contaminants and road salts (TGF, 2017). There has been concern that the non-regulated contamination would lead to adverse health effects on the human, animal and plant populations. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of non-targeted screening methods available for analyzing groundwater and to identify relevant data gaps from existing studies. Many studies have been conducted globally using non-targeted screening approaches. Several studies were able to reach low detection limits. A limiting factor for many of the studies was the availability of analytical reference standards for identification of some of the compounds that were previously undetected. Most of the studies took grab samples and then followed with solid phase extraction, which limited them to a snapshot of the actual contamination instead of providing an extended period. The use of non-targeted screening (NTA) for monitoring groundwater seems to have potential due to the low detections levels reached in the studies. Current efforts of various research labs gave insight into what non-targeted screening involves and what actions needed to occur for a standard non-targeted analysis method.