Inorganic Pollutants in the Environment

Course content

Knowledge of the most important inorganic pollutants and the processes and control variables that govern their behaviour in the environment on different scales (local, regional, global). Learning of evaluation criteria of contaminated sites (soils, groundwater and water bodies). Overview of the most important remediation concepts of contaminated soils and groundwaters.

[Inorganic Pollutants in the Environment (L)] :

The focus of the lecture Inorganic Pollutants in the Environment is the behaviour of toxic heavy metals and nutrients in the environment. In addition to the essential physical-chemical basic parameters of this group of pollutants, the binding and transport behaviour of various heavy metals in soils, waters and the atmosphere is demonstrated on the basis of case studies. The focus is on industrial sites, deposits and ore processing plants that have caused contamination of soils, groundwater, surface waters or the atmosphere on different scales. Further contents are the assessment of contaminated sites on the basis of administrative regulations and existing limit values, considerations of the natural background of toxic heavy metals as well as strategies for remediation or risk limitation of contaminated soils and waters. In addition to heavy metals, the contamination of surface waters and groundwater by macronutrients is also addressed.

[Organic Pollutants in the Environment (L)]
The lecture Organic Pollutants in the Environment deals with the occurrence and behaviour of organic chemicals in the environment. At the beginning the principles of chemical plant protection from synthesis to application are presented. The basic prerequisite for this is the legally regulated authorisation procedure, in which, among other things, investigation strategies are used starting from laboratory and lysimeter experiments to field studies in order to assess the residue behaviour of these organic chemicals in the various environmental compartments of air, soil and water. This authorisation procedure is based on test methods that are also used as a basis for investigations under the Chemicals Act, the Biocides Directive and the authorisation of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. In addition to the presentation of these test systems, the application of residue and radiotracer analysis is also discussed. In this methodically designed concept, direct practical relevance is achieved by including current results from research activities in the individual sub-disciplines.