Project Title:  Specific Identification of Organic Pollutants in Catawba Watershed
 

Faculty Mentor:  Dr. Pat Owens (owensp@winthrop.edu)

 

Estimated Time Commitment:  Minimum 10-15 hrs/week for one semester

 

Coursework Pre- and Co-requisites:  CHEM 105-108 required, CHEM 301-304, 313-314, preferred

 

Project Overview:  The Catawba River is an industrialized watershed with a number of permitted direct discharges that include a variety of industrial sources and municipal or private waste-water treatment plant (WWTP) discharges.  The watershed also serves as the principal source of drinking water for much of the region.

Cites such as Rock Hill have drinking water intakes that are downstream of both industrial and WWTP discharges.  Little is known about the organic substances present in these effluents.  Human exposure to certain toxic organics has been shown to cause cancer, to cause birth defects, and to disrupt endocrine systems, particularly since organics tend to bioaccumulate in fat cells and membranes.


The primary goal of this project is to initiate a survey to identify organic compounds that are found in the Catawba watershed.  A sampling plan will be developed, the types of samples (water, sediment, suspended solids) to be collected identified, sampling locations selected (e.g. upstream and downstream of selected discharge points).  Methods to extract organics from these samples will then be identified and carried out.  Analysis of extracted samples will utilize mass spectrometric (MS) identification and gas or liquid chromatography (GC or LC) separation techniques.  Verification of identified substances will be then made and quantified using prepared calibration standards.
 

Specific Objectives:  The undergraduate researcher will: