Environmental Forensics:
Where Riddles and Science Meet
What is a Riddle?
It is a puzzling question that challenges the mind, often misleading or deceptive, with a solution that requires clever thought. The dictionary defines it as problem or question to be solved, but it also has other meanings. A riddle can be a screen used to separate things like grain from chaff, or as a verb, it can describe the function of puncturing or permeating something, like a crime scene riddled with bullet holes. In essence, riddles are all around us, asking us to see beyond the surface and uncover deeper truths.
But what if we told you that solving riddles isn’t just for puzzles or games? What if, in the world of science, solving riddles is exactly what forensic experts do every day? The relationship between riddles and forensics might be more interconnected than you think.
Forensics and Riddles
Forensic tasks have a lot in common with solving riddles. Forensic scientists are often presented with puzzling questions or problems that involve confusing or misleading information. Their task is to look for truths and facts to resolve the ambiguity, try to poke holes or find potential errors in alternate hypotheses, and then provide an expert opinion on what it all means.
The word “forensic” derives from the Latin forensis, which is related to ‘forum,’ a place of assembly, public discussion, or debate. The Roman forum hosted such gatherings, while also serving as a venue for public trials and judicial hearings. In North America, the word ‘forensic’ is often used as a descriptor for courtroom or litigation activities. At its core, forensics involves finding truth in a question or problem through an accurate, methodical, detailed, and unbiased investigation. In addition to its role in litigation support, forensics may be used to provide a basis for mediated or negotiated transactions or for public inquiries into environmental matters.
Environmental Forensics
One of the most fascinating areas of forensics today is environmental forensics, a field that operates at the intersection of forensics and environmental chemistry, and seeks to answer questions related to environmental contamination, such as:
- Who, or which parties, caused a particular environmental contamination?
- When did the contamination occur?
- Did the contamination occur in a single large release or through a series of small releases?
- Are the laboratory tests valid?
- How extensive is the contamination?
Environmental forensics came into being as a recognized field as a direct result of the science and chemistry developed for petroleum exploration. The first publications appeared in the mid-1990s. After the 1989 Valdez oil spill, 120 miles east of Anchorage, Alaska, significant advances were made in understanding the fate and chemical changes (e.g., degradation) of petroleum as it is exposed to the environment. These learnings aided investigators in distinguishing not only different petroleum reservoir sources, but also relative release ages among different petroleum crudes. Soon after came techniques for investigating petroleum fractions such as gasoline, kerosene, diesel, heating and lubricating oils, coal and petroleum tars and pitches, as well as chlorinated solvents and other chlorinated organics. Methods for both chemical analysis and forensic interpretation were developed, standardized, and validated. As a result, experienced environmental forensic investigators are now widely accepted as subject-matter experts and expert witnesses to support both litigation and negotiated settlements for environmental contamination dispute resolution.
Riddle Me This: The Case of Coal Tar and Environmental Change
Let’s put this into context with a riddle of our own:
I am black when you buy me and red when you use me. When I turn grey you know it’s time to throw me away. What am I?
The answer? Coal. It’s a simple riddle but highlights the transformation process, something key to environmental forensics. Just as coal changes color over time, the environment reacts to pollutants and chemicals in unique ways. Understanding these changes is the job of environmental forensics.
In the mid-2000s, environmental forensics investigations demonstrated that asphalt sealants made from coal tar pitches – as distinct from petroleum pitches – were a dominant source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in watersheds across the eastern United States. Since suitable coal deposits are rare in the western United States, asphalt sealants in that region were produced primarily from petroleum pitches. Subsequently, coal tar pitches were largely eliminated from the U.S. market, which offers an excellent example of environmental forensics providing a basis for public discourse into an environmental matter.
The Deepwater Horizon and the Growth of Forensic Science
Another critical moment for environmental forensics came with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The disaster highlighted the need for advanced forensic techniques in analyzing environmental contamination from petroleum spills. In response, new technologies were developed, particularly in the fields of advanced data visualization, high-resolution chemical analysis, and statistical data evaluation. These advances not only provide enhanced support for petroleum spills, but have also paved the way for forensic science to address new challenges, such as the emerging field of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. PFAS is a very different chemical class from those studied forensically up to now. The newer forensic approaches of non-targeted high-resolution chemical analysis and advanced statistics have accelerated the pace of acceptance of PFAS forensics in environmental investigations.
A Final Riddle to Ponder
I’m always in front of you but you can never see me. What am I?
The answer? The future. Just as the future is uncertain, the path ahead for environmental forensics is filled with unknowns. But one thing is clear: the field will continue to grow, helping us solve more puzzles, inform property transactions and investigations, and make informed decisions that benefit society.
Stay tuned for more articles that will dive deeper into the evolving world of environmental forensics and explore how these experts continue to solve the puzzles that shape our world.
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