books and software
MS and Its Role in the EPA
Analytical Mass Spectrometry—Strategies for Environmental and Related Applications William L. Budde Oxford University Press 2001, 357 pp, $125
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ccasionally, ACS sponsors or cosponsors books on popular topics in different areas of applied chemistry; this book, which is cosponsored by ACS and Oxford University Press, is intended for a broad base of readers. The book is easy to read, informative, and enjoyable; it reflects the author’s many years of experience working in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analytical laboratories. One unique feature of the book is that it gives the reader insight into how the EPA has developed certain methodologies and why programs such as QA/QC are required in the projects the agency sponsors. The book, divided into eight chapters with references at the end, also describes the strategies used by EPA scientists to solve problems that combine applying MS to environmental analysis. The introductory chapter chronicles the evolution of the environmental movement, environmental regulations in the United States, and EPA’s analytical protocols. The general strategies used by the agency to develop reliable MS methodologies for analyzing pollutants—including sampling, sample processing, and instrument selection optimization and calibration—are covered in detail in chapters 2, 5, and 8. The principles of conventional GC/MS, defined by the author as open tubular GC directly con-
nected to a mass spectrometer (magnetic sector, quadrupole, or ion trap), are discussed in chapter 2. Chapters 3 and 4 present a historical perspective on priority pollutants and the many challenges the EPA faces with its QA/QC programs for volatile and semivolatile organic compounds (the 500 and 600 methods series). There is also a discussion of the EPA’s influence on the MS industry and how the passage of the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund) forced the agency to change the way it handles samples requiring GC/MS analysis. Chapter 5 focuses on nonconventional MS techniques, such as chemical and charge exchange ionization; high-resolution MS and its role in improving detection limits; establishing a compound’s chemical structure; and analyzing specific pollutants, such as peptide nucleic acids, halogenated hydrocarbons, and dioxins. Chapter 6 covers advanced MS techniques—field desorption MS, fast atom bombardment, plasma desorption, LC/MS, supercritical fluid chromatogra-
phy (SFC)/MS, SFC/MS and CE/MS— and their application in environmental analyses. Despite the numerous cited references, this is the weakest and least organized chapter. The sections on chemical derivatization and pyrolysis MS, and LC/MS interfaces and particle beam/ thermospray seem misplaced. Chapter 7 briefly discusses the application of inductively coupled plasma/MS for the analysis of metals in environmental samples. Environmental engineers and laboratory managers will find this book an extremely valuable and helpful resource for evaluating and planning their activities. Formally trained chemists, even those not familiar with environmental issues, should benefit from the book’s discussions on method detection limits, selecting internal standards, selecting surrogate compounds, or matrix interference problems. The author attempted to cover many areas of MS applications in one source and achieved that goal.
Reviewed by Farida Saleh, University of North Texas
Books Received b Handbook of Raman Spectroscopy Edited by Ian R. Lewis and Howell G. M. Edwards Marcel Dekker, Inc. 2001, 1054 pp, $225
b Handbook of Near-Infrared Analysis: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded Edited by Donald A. Burns and Emil W. Ciurczak 2001, 820 pp, $225
The early chapters of this edition focus on the principles of Raman theory, analysis, instrumentation, measurement parameters, and extracting analytical information from given data. Readers can also find sections on the use of automated calibration in the industrial environment. The latter chapters in the book focus on the applications and techniques of Raman spectroscopy in areas such as environmental science, polymer films and fibers, hard-disk analysis, pharmaceuticals, gemmology, and forensics, to name a few. The spectral identification of databases for pigments is also covered in this edition.
Although some topics from the previous edition, such as instrumentation; computerization; calibration; and method development for pharmaceuticals, textiles, agricultural products, foods, and beverages, are revisited early in the book, this second edition contains new and expanded chapters on the history of near-IR spectroscopy, calibration transfer, biomedical applications, plastics analyses, and the counterfeiting of money and turquoise using near-IR spectroscopy. Practicing analytical chemists and spectroscopists who are responsible for methods development should find this edition helpful.
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