CUSTOMERS WHO USE CHEMCATCHER®

CUSTOMERS WHO USE CHEMCATCHER®

WHAT IS CHEMCATCHER®

Chemcatcher® is a highly versatile and cost-effective passive sampling device for monitoring a wide variety of pollutants in potable, surface, coastal and marine waters.

The worldwide licence to manufacture and sell Chemcatcher® has been acquired by TelLab, and we are now marketing it internationally to help identify and manage a number of environmental issues, such as the presence of acidic herbicides, problematic molluscicides, radionuclides and pharmaceuticals in water systems.

HOW DOES CHEMCATCHER® WORK?

  • Chemcatcher®  is a low-cost and passive (non-mechanical) device, with no power, maintenance or supervision requirements
  • Different combinations of the membrane and receiving phase allow Chemcatcher® to be tailored for different purposes
  • This enables screening for the vast majority of problematic aquatic micro-pollutants,  including both polar and non-polar organic compounds
  • The device can be deployed in situ for varying durations – typically from a minimum of 7 days to an average of two weeks
  • This allows the target compound to be sequestered continually from the environment. Thus, Chemcatcher® captures sporadic, transient inputs of pollutants and fluctuations in levels over time, and a time-weighted average can be calculated for the deployment period

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CHEMCATCHER® COMPONENTS

  • Easy to deploy in the field

  • Cost effective as the PTFE body is reusable

  • Measures a wide range of pollutants

  • Validated by world-leading academics

  • Detect pollutants at low concentrations

  • Provides time-weighted average concentrations of chemicals

WHAT POLLUTANTS CAN CHEMCATCHER® MONITOR

Chemcatcher® for metaldehyde

Metaldehyde is a potent molluscicide and is the active ingredient in most formulated slug pellets. Large quantities of pellets are used in some agricultural areas at specific times in the year to control infestations in crops.

As a consequence, often high concentrations of metaldehyde can found in surface waters after significant rainfall events. Chemcatcher® can be used to measure metaldehyde in water.

Chemcatcher® for Herbicides

MCPA herbicide is used for grassland rush control, as well as ragwort, thistles, Buttercups, Nettle, and a broad range of weeds. In western Europe temperate climates, rush control normally takes place in June and July and involves the use of MCPA products.

Leaks from storage areas and spills or drips during handling can result in the MCPA getting into the water: a single drop of MCPA in a water body like a stream at 1m wide, 0.30m deep, can be enough to exceed the legal limit for pesticides in drinking water of 0.1 part per billion along 30km of its length.(1)

Some of the water utilities in the UK use Chemcatcher® passive samplers as part of their monitoring program as passive samplers can provide a better understanding of the concentration of pesticides in river water over continued periods of time while spike/grab samples can miss increases in concentration.

Chemcatcher® for PAHs, PCBs

A popular application is monitoring for non-polar organics e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHS are known to be toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic; many PAHs are persistent in water while trace levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in air and water.

Even trace concentration levels of contaminants do not present an issue for Chemcatcher®, as it provides time-weighted-average (TWA) and equilibrium concentrations over the deployment period.

Chemcatcher® for Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, Illicit Drugs

The presence of polar organic micropollutants (e.g., personal care products, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs) in the aquatic environment is of growing concern.

There is a need to provide targeted high-quality monitoring information on the most relevant micropollutants as there is little information on their dynamics and what kind of transformations take place to produce various metabolites; e.g. antibiotics are arising as emerging contaminants from the use of antibiotics by animals and humans. Indeed, exposure of low doses over long periods may lead to chronic toxic effects that are as yet not well known.

Chemcatcher® passive samplers can be used to monitor for micropollutants to assess the possible risk to aquatic life and surface water quality.

Chemcatcher® for radionuclides

The Fukushima nuclear reactor incident in 2011 led to the release of large quantities of radioactive isotopes into the environment.

Of particular concern was the impact of radio-caesium in different environmental compartments. Chemcatcher® has been shown to be effective in monitoring radio-caesium in contaminated water bodies. This work was undertaken by the Chiba Institute of Technology (Tokyo, Japan).

The use of the device has helped to inform the environmental fate of radio-caesium and to assess the effectiveness of different remediation measures.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFOS, PFOA)

These substances are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in a range of common household products and for speciality applications; these include non-stick cookware; furniture, fabric and carpet stain protection; food packaging; some industrial processes and in some types of fire-fighting foam.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) belong to this group of chemicals which are very stable and do not break down in the environment (1). As a result, they are being increasingly found in the environment.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, human exposure data varies and is limited but fish would seem to be an important source for humans as well as contributing to exposure to PFOA. (2) PFOS has been designated as a priority substance under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) legislation and assigned an Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) value of 0.65ng/L in inland surface waters(3).

This level is about 15 times lower than common laboratory detection limits.

These low levels are not an issue for Chemcatcher® as it can effectively concentrate pollutants compared to spot sampling, resulting in lower analytical detection limits.

Chemcatcher® for metals

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was introduced to achieve protection and sustainable development of water resources in the European Union countries through established Environmental Quality Standards (EQS).

The directive sets annual averages and maximum allowable concentrations for inland and other surface waters for the dissolved fraction of some trace metals including nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg).

Chemcatcher® can be used to monitor for these metals as well as chromium, cobalt and manganese.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1

Metaldehyde is a potent molluscicide and is the active ingredient in most formulated slug pellets.

Large quantities of pellets are used in some agricultural areas at specific times in the year to control infestations in crops.

As a consequence, often high concentrations of metaldehyde can be found in surface waters after significant rainfall events. Chemcatcher® can be used to measure metaldehyde in water.

2

MCPA herbicide is used for grassland rush control, as well as ragwort, thistles, Buttercups, Nettle, and a broad range of weeds. In western Europe temperate climates, rush control normally takes place in June and July and involves the use of MCPA products.

Leaks from storage areas and spills or drips during handling can result in the MCPA getting into the water: a single drop of MCPA in a water body like a stream at 1m wide, 0.30m deep, can be enough to exceed the legal limit for pesticides in drinking water of 0.1 part per billion along 30km of its length.(1)

Some of the water utilities in the UK use Chemcatcher® passive samplers as part of their monitoring program as passive samplers can provide a better understanding of the concentration of pesticides in river water over continued periods of time while spike/grab samples can miss increases in concentration.

3

A popular application is monitoring for non-polar organics e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHS are known to be toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic; many PAHs are persistent in water while trace levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in air and water.

Even trace concentration levels of contaminants do not present an issue for Chemcatcher®, as it provides time-weighted-average (TWA) and equilibrium concentrations over the deployment period.

4

The presence of polar organic micropollutants (e.g., personal care products, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs) in the aquatic environment is of growing concern.

There is a need to provide targeted high-quality monitoring information on the most relevant micropollutants as there is little information on their dynamics and what kind of transformations take place to produce various metabolites; e.g. antibiotics are arising as emerging contaminants from the use of antibiotics by animals and humans. Indeed, exposure of low doses over long periods may lead to chronic toxic effects that are as yet not well known.

Chemcatcher® passive samplers can be used to monitor for micropollutants to assess the possible risk to aquatic life and surface water quality.

5

The Fukushima nuclear reactor incident in 2011 led to the release of large quantities of radioactive isotopes into the environment.

Of particular concern was the impact of radio-caesium in different environmental compartments. Chemcatcher® has been shown to be effective in monitoring radio-caesium in contaminated water bodies.

This work was undertaken by the Chiba Institute of Technology (Tokyo, Japan).

The use of the device has helped to inform the environmental fate of radio-caesium and to assess the effectiveness of different remediation measures.

6

These substances are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in a range of common household products and for speciality applications; these include non-stick cookware; furniture, fabric and carpet stain protection; food packaging; some industrial processes and in some types of fire-fighting foam.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) belong to this group of chemicals which are very stable and do not break down in the environment (1). As a result, they are being increasingly found in the environment.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, human exposure data varies and is limited but fish would seem to be an important source for humans as well as contributing to exposure to PFOA. (2) PFOS has been designated as a priority substance under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) legislation and assigned an Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) value of 0.65ng/L in inland surface waters(3).

This level is about 15 times lower than common laboratory detection limits.

These low levels are not an issue for Chemcatcher® as it can effectively concentrate pollutants compared to spot sampling, resulting in lower analytical detection limits.

7

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was introduced to achieve protection and sustainable development of water resources in the European Union countries through established Environmental Quality Standards (EQS).

The directive sets annual averages and maximum allowable concentrations for inland and other surface waters for the dissolved fraction of some trace metals including nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg).

Chemcatcher® can be used to monitor for these metals as well as chromium, cobalt and manganese.

WHAT POLLUTANTS CAN CHEMCATCHER® MONITOR

Chemcatcher® for metaldehyde

Metaldehyde is a potent molluscicide and is the active ingredient in most formulated slug pellets. Large quantities of pellets are used in some agricultural areas at specific times in the year to control infestations in crops.

As a consequence, often high concentrations of metaldehyde can found in surface waters after significant rainfall events. Chemcatcher® can be used to measure metaldehyde in water.

Chemcatcher® for Herbicides

MCPA herbicide is used for grassland rush control, as well as ragwort, thistles, Buttercups, Nettle, and a broad range of weeds. In western Europe temperate climates, rush control normally takes place in June and July and involves the use of MCPA products.

Leaks from storage areas and spills or drips during handling can result in the MCPA getting into the water: a single drop of MCPA in a water body like a stream at 1m wide, 0.30m deep, can be enough to exceed the legal limit for pesticides in drinking water of 0.1 part per billion along 30km of its length.(1)

Some of the water utilities in the UK use Chemcatcher® passive samplers as part of their monitoring program as passive samplers can provide a better understanding of the concentration of pesticides in river water over continued periods of time while spike/grab samples can miss increases in concentration.

Chemcatcher® for PAHs, PCBs

A popular application is monitoring for non-polar organics e.g. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHS are known to be toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic; many PAHs are persistent in water while trace levels of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been found in air and water.

Even trace concentration levels of contaminants do not present an issue for Chemcatcher®, as it provides time-weighted-average (TWA) and equilibrium concentrations over the deployment period.

Chemcatcher® for Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, Illicit Drugs

The presence of polar organic micropollutants (e.g., personal care products, pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs) in the aquatic environment is of growing concern.

There is a need to provide targeted high-quality monitoring information on the most relevant micropollutants as there is little information on their dynamics and what kind of transformations take place to produce various metabolites; e.g. antibiotics are arising as emerging contaminants from the use of antibiotics by animals and humans. Indeed, exposure of low doses over long periods may lead to chronic toxic effects that are as yet not well known.

Chemcatcher® passive samplers can be used to monitor for micropollutants to assess the possible risk to aquatic life and surface water quality.

Chemcatcher® for radionuclides

The Fukushima nuclear reactor incident in 2011 led to the release of large quantities of radioactive isotopes into the environment.

Of particular concern was the impact of radio-caesium in different environmental compartments. Chemcatcher® has been shown to be effective in monitoring radio-caesium in contaminated water bodies. This work was undertaken by the Chiba Institute of Technology (Tokyo, Japan).

The use of the device has helped to inform the environmental fate of radio-caesium and to assess the effectiveness of different remediation measures.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFOS, PFOA)

These substances are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in a range of common household products and for speciality applications; these include non-stick cookware; furniture, fabric and carpet stain protection; food packaging; some industrial processes and in some types of fire-fighting foam.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) belong to this group of chemicals which are very stable and do not break down in the environment (1). As a result, they are being increasingly found in the environment.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, human exposure data varies and is limited but fish would seem to be an important source for humans as well as contributing to exposure to PFOA. (2) PFOS has been designated as a priority substance under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) legislation and assigned an Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) value of 0.65ng/L in inland surface waters(3).

This level is about 15 times lower than common laboratory detection limits.

These low levels are not an issue for Chemcatcher® as it can effectively concentrate pollutants compared to spot sampling, resulting in lower analytical detection limits.

Chemcatcher® for metals

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) was introduced to achieve protection and sustainable development of water resources in the European Union countries through established Environmental Quality Standards (EQS).

The directive sets annual averages and maximum allowable concentrations for inland and other surface waters for the dissolved fraction of some trace metals including nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and mercury (Hg).

Chemcatcher® can be used to monitor for these metals as well as chromium, cobalt and manganese.

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY 1

Background

South West Water wanted improvements in raw water quality, through identification of tributaries that were sources of acid herbicides in the water.

Problem

  • Compounds such as mecoprop, MCPA, tricolpyr and clopyralid are widely used in South West England to control weeds in grassland.
  • Due to their high water solubility, this can lead to frequent run-off.
  • This in turn causes problems for South West Water as it is regularly detected in major drinking water catchments, above PCV level (0.1μg/l for a given pesticide). Indeed a single drop of MCPA in a water body like a stream of 1m wide, 0.30m deep, can be enough to exceed the legal limit for pesticides in drinking water of 0.1μg/l along 30km of its length. (1)

Solution

  • Chemcatcher passive samplers were chosen for monitoring as they avoid the ‘hit and miss’ nature of spot sampling.
  • Passive samplers can be deployed for extended periods (weeks) and can reveal time weighted average (TWA) concentrations of pollutants
  • The TWA concentrations were calculated and this allowed better estimates of the overall inputs of these herbicides into the catchment.
  • In addition, the samplers were able to detect sporadic inputs of these herbicides after rainfall events; these events were not picked up by spot water samples.

Source:

Mills G. A., Townsend, I., Jones, L., Broomb, M., Gravell, A. and Greenwood, R. (2016) Chemcatcher® for monitoring acidic herbicides in a river catchment in South West England [Oral Presentation] 8th International Passive sampling Workshop and Symposium. Prague. 7-10 September.

CASE STUDY 2

Background

United Utilities used Chemcatchers at 13 sites across the Dee catchment, to measure metaldehyde and different acid herbicides at each site was to better understand the concentration of pesticides in the river water over continued periods of time (spot samples can often miss pesticide spikes) and also to assess the spatial characteristics of pesticide application across the catchment.

These herbicides included:

  • MCPA
  • 2,4-D
  • Clopyralid
  • Mecoprop
  • Fluroxypyr
  • Triclopyr
  • Dicamba
  • Bromoxynil
  • Bentazone
  • Metaldehyde

Problem

  • Seasonal variation of pesticides occurs during the year, e.g. MCPA had a relatively high average concentration in the catchments during the spring and summer months, while autumn and winter measurements were low.

Solution

  • With the Chemcatchers, United Utilities was able to identify particular problem areas with two areas identified as being particularly problematic, with high amounts of 2,4-D and MCPA in the late spring/early summer. Other pesticides, such as clopyralid and fluroxypyr, were present consistently at lower levels for many sub-catchments all year round.
  • The data provided by the Chemcatchers helped United Utilities to prioritise the sub-catchments according to how much of a risk they present to drinking water quality.

Source:

United Utilities (2017) River Dee Catchment Using Data and Evidence to Target

Water Quality Measures Westcountry Rivers Trust. Available at: http://www.welshdeetrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/UU_Dee_Catchment_Report_11-09-17_WEB-MEDIUM-2.pdf [Accessed 11 April 2018]

CASE STUDY 3

Background

Following a major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident on 11 March 2011. The accident was rated 7 on the INES scale, due to high radioactive releases over days 4 to 6, eventually a total of some 940 PBq (I-131 eq) (2).

Problem

  • The main radionuclide which was emitted due to the accident was caesium-137, which has a 30-year half-life, is easily carried in a plume, and when it lands it may contaminate land for some time. It is a strong gamma-emitter in its decay.
  • Cs-134 is also produced and dispersed, it has a two-year half-life.
  • Caesium is soluble and can be taken into the body, but does not concentrate in any particular organs, and has a biological half-life of about 70 days. (2).

Solutions

  • Collaborations with Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan and 3M Tokyo resulted in a modified Chemcatcher, suitable for monitoring radio-caesium in waters near the Fukushima reactor.
  • A bespoke receiving phase with a high affinity for Caesium allows time integrative accumulation and lowers detection limits.
  • Removes the need to collect large volumes (c. 200 L) of potentially radioactive water.

Source: Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 Impact Case Studies. (2014) The Chemcatcher – an approved passive sampler for monitoring water quality. Available at: URL [http://impact.ref.ac.uk/CaseStudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=14991 [Accessed 11 April 2018].

CASE STUDIES

CASE STUDY 1

Background

South West Water wanted improvements in raw water quality, through identification of tributaries that were sources of acid herbicides in the water.

Problem

  • Compounds such as mecoprop, MCPA, tricolpyr and clopyralid are widely used in South West England to control weeds in grassland.
  • Due to their high water solubility, this can lead to frequent run-off.
  • This in turn causes problems for South West Water as it is regularly detected in major drinking water catchments, above PCV level (0.1μg/l for a given pesticide). Indeed a single drop of MCPA in a water body like a stream of 1m wide, 0.30m deep, can be enough to exceed the legal limit for pesticides in drinking water of 0.1μg/l along 30km of its length. (1)

Solution

  • Chemcatcher passive samplers were chosen for monitoring as they avoid the ‘hit and miss’ nature of spot sampling.
  • Passive samplers can be deployed for extended periods (weeks) and can reveal time weighted average (TWA) concentrations of pollutants
  • The TWA concentrations were calculated and this allowed better estimates of the overall inputs of these herbicides into the catchment.
  • In addition, the samplers were able to detect sporadic inputs of these herbicides after rainfall events; these events were not picked up by spot water samples.

Source:

Mills G. A., Townsend, I., Jones, L., Broomb, M., Gravell, A. and Greenwood, R. (2016) Chemcatcher® for monitoring acidic herbicides in a river catchment in South West England [Oral Presentation] 8th International Passive sampling Workshop and Symposium. Prague. 7-10 September.

CASE STUDY 2

Background

United Utilities used Chemcatchers at 13 sites across the Dee catchment, to measure metaldehyde and different acid herbicides at each site was to better understand the concentration of pesticides in the river water over continued periods of time (spot samples can often miss pesticide spikes) and also to assess the spatial characteristics of pesticide application across the catchment.

These herbicides included:

  • MCPA
  • 2,4-D
  • Clopyralid
  • Mecoprop
  • Fluroxypyr
  • Triclopyr
  • Dicamba
  • Bromoxynil
  • Bentazone
  • Metaldehyde

Problem

  • Seasonal variation of pesticides occurs during the year, e.g. MCPA had a relatively high average concentration in the catchments during the spring and summer months, while autumn and winter measurements were low.

Solution

  • With the Chemcatchers, United Utilities was able to identify particular problem areas with two areas identified as being particularly problematic, with high amounts of 2,4-D and MCPA in the late spring/early summer. Other pesticides, such as clopyralid and fluroxypyr, were present consistently at lower levels for many sub-catchments all year round.
  • The data provided by the Chemcatchers helped United Utilities to prioritise the sub-catchments according to how much of a risk they present to drinking water quality.

Source:

United Utilities (2017) River Dee Catchment Using Data and Evidence to Target

Water Quality Measures Westcountry Rivers Trust. Available at: http://www.welshdeetrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/UU_Dee_Catchment_Report_11-09-17_WEB-MEDIUM-2.pdf [Accessed 11 April 2018]

CASE STUDY 3

Background

Following a major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident on 11 March 2011. The accident was rated 7 on the INES scale, due to high radioactive releases over days 4 to 6, eventually a total of some 940 PBq (I-131 eq) (2).

Problem

  • The main radionuclide which was emitted due to the accident was caesium-137, which has a 30-year half-life, is easily carried in a plume, and when it lands it may contaminate land for some time. It is a strong gamma-emitter in its decay.
  • Cs-134 is also produced and dispersed, it has a two-year half-life.
  • Caesium is soluble and can be taken into the body, but does not concentrate in any particular organs, and has a biological half-life of about 70 days. (2).

Solutions

  • Collaborations with Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan and 3M Tokyo resulted in a modified Chemcatcher, suitable for monitoring radio-caesium in waters near the Fukushima reactor.
  • A bespoke receiving phase with a high affinity for Caesium allows time integrative accumulation and lowers detection limits.
  • Removes the need to collect large volumes (c. 200 L) of potentially radioactive water.

Source: Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 Impact Case Studies. (2014) The Chemcatcher – an approved passive sampler for monitoring water quality. Available at: URL [http://impact.ref.ac.uk/CaseStudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=14991 [Accessed 11 April 2018].

ABOUT T.E LABORATORIES

T.E. Laboratories (TelLab) holds the worldwide licence to manufacture and sell Chemcatcher®.

Founded in 1991, TelLab has developed deep-domain analytical chemistry expertise through decades of experience in environmental, oil and microbial analysis and chemicals manufacture.

Our in-house R&D laboratory is currently leading and partnering in a number of European water-quality monitoring projects. In addition, we have recently spun out Aquamonitrix Ltd  to bring our range of proprietary real-time nutrient analysers to international markets.

We are headquartered in Ireland and the majority of our 50-strong workforce are chemists or engineers. We also have an office in the UK and can supply Chemcatcher® products worldwide.

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