separation with reversed-phase HPLC. He told ES& Τ that this effect provides "many well-resolved and distinguish able spectra of four- and five-ring [chlorinated] systems. Colmsjô has compiled an atlas of fluorescence spectra of P A H s and chlorinated derivatives amenable to Shpol'skii effect analysis. The Shpol'skii effect is seen at temperatures at or below 77 K; indeed, some analyses using this phenomenon are run at 4 K. It occurs with solutions of aromatics in frozen n-alkanes. Lina Nakhimovsky of the University of Hartford, West Hartford, Conn., (on leave of absence at Iowa State University as this was being written) says that rapid crystallization is crucial for observing quasiline absorption and fluorescence spectra, which is why such conditions are needed. She explains that quasilines characteristic of the Shpol'skii effect are a result of local excitations in molecular groups inserted in the n-alkane matrix. The term quasilines arises from the fact that fluorescence spectra of supersaturated solid solutions of the aromatics-/2-alkane type are predominantly quasilinear. Typical analytes could be PAHs
with one dimension close to the length of the n-alkane molecule. Selective excitation of the analyte in a complex mixture may be achieved by laser. The effect was named after Eduard Vladimirovich Shpol'skii (d. 1972), who first discovered it in the 1950s. For suitable analytes, it is said to reduce or eliminate the need for expensive, time-consuming chromatographic separation and cleanup. Moreover, scientists from the Institute of Physics of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (Tartu, Estonia, USSR) claim that they have been able to detect BaP in «-octane to levels as low as 5 X 10~ 1 3 g / m L with Shpol'skii spectra. Supercritical fluids Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) is a new, "exotic" approach to P A H analysis (ES&T, October 1982, p. 548A). W. Paul Jackson, a graduate student at Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah), explains that S F C retains the solvating property and mobile-phase selection versatility of H P L C , but diffusion characteristics are more favorable and fluid viscosity is much lower. He adds that density is one of the main factors that determines solvating properties of supercritical
fluids. Jackson observes that " S F C offers high resolution approaching that of capillary GC. S F C is compatible with many of the detectors used with H P L C and G C . " Candidate S F C carrier fluids include CO2, methanol, ammonia, «-pentane, benzene, 2-propanol, and chlorofluoromethane. Jackson successfully used S F C with fused-silica columns to analyze samples of coal tar, carbon black extract, vacuum still bottoms from coal liquefaction, and asphaltenes from coal liquids for PAHs. Examples of PAHs found included coronene and several 7-10-ring compounds. He said that he could not dissolve PAHs > 10 rings but "expects to find an appropriate supercritical carrier fluid to solve that problem." So both conventional and exotic tools are now being used to detect and quantify PAHs and their metabolites down to miniscule concentrations. And, if the concepts of Dai and his colleagues are borne out, perhaps scientists can get both a qualitative and quantitative "handle" on the biochemical mechanism of the initiation of carcinogenesis and mutagenesis. —Julian Josephson
Upcoming environmental program At the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society, to be held in St. Louis, Mo., the Environmental Chemistry Division will sponsor three symposia in addition to sessions with general papers. Larry H. Keith of Radian Corporation (Austin, Tex.), program chairman of the division, says that there will also be two ACS award symposia on environmental topics. The environmental program will be held Monday through Thursday, April 9-12. Plan to be there. Symposia A symposium on formaldehyde will be held Monday morning through Thursday afternoon. Organized by Vic Turoski of the James River Research 0013-936X/84/0916-0095A$01.50/0
Center (Neenah, Wis.), the symposium will include three half-day sessions on toxicology, three on analytical chemistry aspects, and two on risk assessment. J. E. Gibson of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology (Research Triangle Park, N.C.), P. S. Shubik, Green College at the Radcliffe Observatory (Oxford, England), and P. Infante of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Washington, D. C.) will preside at the toxicology sessions. The analytical sessions will be chaired by Turoski and E. Kennedy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Cincinnati, Ohio). The sessions on risk assessment will be chaired by B. F.
© 1984 American Chemical Society
Vincent, also of the James River Research Center. The toxicology sessions are scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, the analytical sessions for Monday afternoon and Tuesday, and the risk assessment sessions are on Thursday. A symposium entitled New PCB Problems and Analyses: Incineration and Destruction Effluents and Byproducts of PCBs has been organized by M. D. Erickson and J. S. Stanley of the Midwest Research Institute (Kansas City, Mo.). Erickson will chair a session on Monday morning; Stanley will chair the Monday afternoon session. A symposium on organic emissions from combustion was organized by Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 18, No. 3, 1984 95A
Clarence L. Haile, also of the Midwest Research Institute; he will chair the two sessions for this symposium, scheduled for Wednesday morning and afternoon. The ACS awards On Tuesday morning, an A C S award symposium will be held in honor of Julian Heicklen. He will receive the A C S award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technol ogy, sponsored by Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Heicklen, professor of chemistry at Pennsylvania State Uni versity, has made numerous contri butions to our understanding of the chemistry of both the upper and lower atmospheres, particularly with regard to the effect of pollutants. Some of his most important work deals with the study of photochemical smog. Heick len and his co-workers were the first to point out that photochemical smog occurs through a free-radical chain mechanism involving hydroxy radicals. This mechanism is the basis for all modeling programs of photochemical smog that are used to determine pol lutant levels and the degree of control needed. It has become the basic
building block on which emission control strategies are based. On Tuesday afternoon, an A C S award symposium will be held in honor of Richard K. Lyon. He will receive the A C S Award for the Chemistry of Contemporary Technological Prob lems, sponsored by Mobay Chemical Corporation. Lyon, a scientific adviser at Exxon Research & Engineering
nai ...SATISFIES YOUR PROJECT NEEDS WITH
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING SERVICES • • • • • • • • •
Air Quality M o n i t o r i n g / M o d e l i n g . · ; „ , Hazardous W a s t e E v a l u a t i o n / M a n a g e m e n t Ground W a t e r Investigations * *** Regulatory Compliance Audits Environmental Impact Studies H y d r o p o w e r Environmental Studies Permit Assistance: RCRA.NPDES. PSD W a s t e l o a d Allocation M o d e l i n g Pretreatment Engineering
• Coastal Process Studies
nai
NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES, INC.
Environmental Consultants i» NASHUA ROAD,BEDKHtl) Ν H (II10.
