Environment-CT
The environment contributes to people's health through our interaction with the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. While our environment provides health enhancing recreational and economic benefits, public health problems caused by environmental contamination and emerging infectious diseases are growing concerns. These potential threats to public health are affected by the dynamic relationship between humans and the physical, chemical, and biological components of ecosystems.
The CESE laboratories play a key role in supporting research and environmental stewardship in Connecticut. All three CESE laboratory divisions currently support the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and its mission by providing analytical services for the Long Island Sound and Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Programs. Additionally, the CESE labs work with the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Department of Agriculture by providing testing of fish and shellfish for heavy metals and organic compounds to be used in fish consumption advisories. Lastly, the labs have taken a leading role in the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking waters, fish and ambient waters in the state.
Environmental and Human Health
The environment contributes to people's health through our interaction with the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink. While our environment provides health enhancing recreational and economic benefits, public health problems caused by environmental contamination and emerging infectious diseases are growing concerns. These potential threats to public health are affected by the dynamic relationship between humans and the physical, chemical, and biological components of ecosystems. Many of the traditional pollutants known to affect human health have come under regulatory control; however, emerging issues about environmental exposure and effects on health are understood poorly. Primary examples of this include pharmaceuticals in the environment, the role of climate change in pollutant fate and transport, health effects of nanomaterials, and exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants.
Research Capabilities
CESE has considerable capacity to support a diversity of research projects related to environmental and human health by providing a quantitative assessment of a wide array of compounds including pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), brominated fire retardants, and persistent organic pollutants. Examples of projects that CESE can support include:
- Assessment of environmental estrogens, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products in surface, storm, and wastewater
- Analysis of heavy metals, including total mercury, in fish and other biota
- Role of climate change in the transport and exposure of persistent pollutants from landfills
- Human and ecological risk assessment through the quantification of PFAS and other emerging organic contaminants in biological tissues and the environment
- Detection and quantitation of marine algal toxins in fish, shellfish, and marine mammals
- Characterization of bioactive phytochemical compounds and natural products
Available Instrumentation
CESE has extensive analytical expertise and advanced instrumentation in the quantification of environmental pollutants, both organic and inorganic, in a variety of matrices including air, water, soils, and biological tissues.
Instruments |
| Ultra performance liquid chromatograph/ tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC/MS/MS) |
| Ultra high-performance liquid chromatograph - time-of-flight high resolution mass spectrometer (UHPLC-QToF). |
| UPLC with evaporative light scattering and photo diode array detectors |
| Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) |
| Inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometer (ICP/MS) |
Analysis of Aquatic Pollutants and Natural Toxins
Water quantity and quality play a critical role in determining vital characteristics of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, and contribute significantly to human well-being. Consequently, physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water represent key indicators of both ecological and human health. Human activities such as urbanization, industrial development, agricultural practices, mining, and fuel use significantly alter many characteristics of water, resulting in changes in quality and utility. For example, aquatic environments that receive inputs of nitrogen because of human land use practices (e.g., crop fertilization, waste disposal) often become eutrophic and support high concentrations of Cyanobacteria. Many of the common species of Cyanobacteria produce toxic metabolites that can be lethal to wildlife, livestock and humans, consequently endangering ecosystem and human health.
Research Capabilities
CESE has considerable capacity to support a diversity of research projects related to water quality research and analysis by providing quantitative assessments of a wide array of compounds including nitrogen and phosphorus species, pharmaceuticals, mercury, organic carbon, and ground water tracers. Examples of projects that CESE can support include:
- Quantification of nutrient species in fresh and saline systems, with detection limits of as low as 1ppb
- Assessment of environmental estrogens, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products in surface, storm, and wastewater
- Quantification of harmful algal bloom toxins, including individual microcystin analogs
- Analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in surface and ground waters
- Development and validation of groundwater tracers for use in pollution mobility studies
- Analysis of traditional and emerging pollutants in drinking and ground water wells
Available Instrumentation
CESE has extensive analytical expertise and advanced instrumentation in the quantification of nutrients and trace pollutants, both organic and inorganic, in ground and surface waters.
Instruments |
| Ion chromatograph |
| Segmented flow auto analyzer |
| Total organic carbon analyzer |
| Inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometer |
| Cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometer |
| ELISA plate reader |
| Ultra performance liquid chromatograph/ tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC/MS/MS) |
| Gas chromatograph/tandem mass spectrometer (GC/MS/MS) |
| Fluorometer |