A Novel Approach in Analyzing Chemical Foot Print

Hava Raznoshik, ISRAEL

All industries vary in wastewater composition and their ecological foot print, relatively to their type of industry and productive activity. Most of them have their own QC and R&D laboratories, which often do not carry out independent examination procedures of wastewater.

It is common practice to outsource that task, and relate the analytical results received as reliable for reporting the authorities and other regulatory and operational purposes.

Furthermore the regulative environmental requirements become stricter and demanding, since approaches as BAT, CAP, GRI, PRTR etc. (i.e) are more commonly applied and enforced.

Therefore the in-house wastewater treatment and control ability and costs are one of the major criteria for economic feasibility of a production and marketing.

All the mentioned above are the main landmarks to the increasing necessity for developing tailor-made analytical methods for at least each kind of industry or at most each group of similar products.

The analytical results for specific component in samples containing particular mix of organic and inorganic materials, can range from low value, sometimes below QL value, to very high values which exceed the allowed maximum limit.

This discussion will demonstrate the curtail effect of appropriate sampling procedure, suitable sample handling, storage and pretreatment and eventually using the right analytical method, to overcome the potential interferences caused by the matrix effect.