Chemistry Matters Inc.

07/05/2024

Where is your office today?

Today, I added to the list of places where I am able to work...

Some people feel you need complete separation of work and non-work.

As an entrepreneur who has been doing this for a long time, I don't think that is necessary. Work life balance is important but taking work with you on vacation is not a bad thing... for me it is necessary. And it provides me the ultimate work life balance of being able to work from absolutely anywhere.

Hope you have great vacation plans this summer. And if you need to take a little work with you, don't stress about it!

05/20/2024

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants.

As such, it is imperative to know if the PAHs you are measuring are from the sources you think they are. Or to know if they are coming from alternative sources.

It has never been so easy! Try our new online portal to help fingerprint you PAHs.
What does it do for you:
- compares to guidelines
- graphs your PAHs (export your fingerprints to your database or for your reports)
- uses diagnostic ratios to identify sources
- compares to database sources to match/identify potential sources
- allows you to compare to source and background samples from your site

Don't assume the PAHs are automatically coming from what you were hired to look at...

Hope to see you on Wednesday this week for a seminar of PAH fingerprinting fundamentals and the online portal that is now available through Statvis Analytics Inc. (https://bit.ly/3WPhhzY)

Webinar is Wednesday, May 22nd 10 AM PST - register here:
https://bit.ly/4apaJv5

Web-based environmental database, visualization and fingerprinting platform. Easy to use, fast knowledge transfer, data analysis for contaminated sites.

05/17/2024

...Do you analyze for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and do you know where your PAHs are coming from?..Are they related to the source of what you are investigation?

You are now in luck!

An online portal is now available to forensically fingerprint and identify sources of PAHs on your site. Attend this presentation to learn about fundamentals of PAH fingerprinting and how to use a new online portal to interpret your PAH data.

Day/Time: Wednesday, May 22 2024 10 AM PST

Register at the link below:
https://bit.ly/3V4IwVY

Hope to see you there!

Sign up for our mailing list to get notice of all upcoming webinars, workshops and on-demand courses as well as exclusive events!

04/17/2024

🕵️‍♂️When dealing with cases involving polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), homologue groups can offer valuable insights into the PCB composition found in the collected samples.

Homologues are varying degrees of chlorination, signifying the presence of different numbers of chlorine atoms ⚛️ within the molecular structure.
For instance, 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙤-PCBs contain only 𝙤𝙣𝙚 chlorine atom, whereas 𝙙𝙞-PCBs contain 𝙩𝙬𝙤.

The number and arrangement of these chlorines can greatly influence the persistence of PCBs in the environment, making it imperative to understand these distinctions.

While there are established methods for fingerprinting and identifying potential sources of contamination, analyzing homologues can provide a good initial understanding of the types of PCB sources present in the samples.

⚠️However, it is important to note that using 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 for fingerprinting and source identification remains the 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵.

To facilitate a clear understanding of the number of congeners within each homologue group, we have created a helpful visual aid.

Learn more about our PCB related research, our work in and remediating contaminated sites here 👉 https://bit.ly/3UoeFYp
Have a case involving PCBs or emerging contaminants you want to discuss? Comment below ⤵️or email us at [email protected] 📨

03/19/2024

🔬In scientific litigation support, just dealing with data isn't enough. Expertise calls for a strong foundational understanding coupled with years of practical and relevant experience. You want data and knowledge mastery!

📖To dive deeper into knowledge mastery concept, check out CMI's founder, Dr. Court Sandau's blog:
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁?👇
https://bit.ly/49YZV7y

Got queries about your data or our expert witness services? Reach out at [email protected]!

The right expert witness in scientific litigation, holds a mastery of knowledge and comes from years of practical experience and education that cannot

03/14/2024

Exciting Research Alert! 🚨Check out our NEWEST article that has since been published, "𝗜𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟬𝘀?"

Don't miss out on the opportunity to learn more about the findings in our publication and stay informed about the latest developments in environmental research.

Read the full article by CMI's own, Dr. Court Sandau, Ifeoluwa Grace Idowu & David Megson here 👇https://bit.ly/3wUIOW1

📚

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are man-made chemicals that were once widely produced as commercial mixtures for various industrial applications. PCB…

03/06/2024

Ever heard of the Mohan Criteria? 🇨🇦 In the legal landscape, these guidelines from the Mohan criteria set the standards for the admissibility of data 💼

The four criteria are:
✅ Relevance: Evidence must make logical sense in the case.
✅ Necessity: It should be essential for the trier of fact to grasp the issues.
✅ Absence of Exclusionary Rule: No hearsay or exclusionary rules should apply.
✅ Qualification of the Expert: The expert must be properly qualified.

Have a question about your case or data? Let us know in the comments below 👇or [email protected]

📖👏

03/01/2024

Ever wondered how the courtroom decides if expert testimony makes the cut? 🕵️‍♂️ For US based litigation, enter the Daubert factors..

1️⃣ Methodology: Daubert demands experts lay out their scientific methods. No room for mystery – transparency is the name of the game.

2️⃣ Peer Review: If your work has faced the scrutiny of fellow experts, you're on the right track. Daubert loves a good peer review stamp of approval!

3️⃣ Error Rates: How accurate is your methodology? Daubert wants to know about error rates. The lower, the better – precision is paramount.

4️⃣ Accepted Standards: Does your approach meet industry standards? Daubert favors methods that stand up to the scrutiny of the scientific community.

💡 So, there you have it! The Daubert factors are the checklist ensuring only the most reliable expert testimony graces the courtroom. 🔒⚖️ Drop your thoughts or questions below!

Video is a snippet of a longer presentation discussing admissibility of GCxGC data in litigation matters.

📜🤓

02/28/2024

You hear it all the time in the news about companies being accused of releasing contaminants into the environment.. But have you ever wondered 𝙝𝙤𝙬 they determine who is responsible for it? 🤔

When working on environmental forensics cases, we always explore whether these contaminants are naturally-occurring or the source of human caused activities.

Either way, we can determine the source apportionment of which parties involved should be the ones paying for cleanup and ultimately, who is responsible for the contamination.

In this case study, we investigate the source of a strange methane gas presence on a property through inert and hydrocarbon gas analysis which included stable isotope analysis.

Check out Dr. Court Sandau's blog for the full story 👇
https://bit.ly/3wzJShK
Spoiler alert... it was natural!

We share our geoforensic experience on why as having the right data is crucial

02/22/2024

Are you staying on top of industry trends as a subject matter expert in the world of ?

For instance, with techniques for dimensionality reduction, t-SNE is so last week, all the cool kids are using UMAP now! But while this is the most up-to-date technique for the time being, a time will come when we need to explore even newer methods that are already circulating.

Check out the full blog of CMI's own Mike Dereviankin to learn more ⤵️
https://bit.ly/42LsdQ2

02/20/2024

What's the difference between 'knowing' and having 'knowledge' about something?

With a quick Google search, it's easy to think that just because you read or heard about something, that you know it and could replicate it.. but TRUE knowledge is understanding why it works, the underlying science behind it, how to explain those results, etc.

That's why it's important to in the field that are capable and have done the type of work before.. not just seen it somewhere or reference some member of their big company from another office that might have worked on something similar, especially when it comes to litigation work.

Check out our "Knowing vs. Knowledge blog ⤵️ for more info.
https://bit.ly/3UL2NQy

Our experts stay current with latest scientific literature, have in depth knowledge and have real legal case experience on environmental forensics.

02/15/2024

Check out our latest article on exploring defensible data for legal proceedings in fire debris analysis🔥 - just published last week!

📖In the article we evaluate various practices in preventing cross-contamination of wildfire fire debris samples using cutting-edge GC×GC-ToF MS technology.

Read the full study here👉 https://bit.ly/42IOUV8

Producing defensible data for legal proceedings requires strict monitoring of sample integrity. In fire debris analysis, various approved packaging and storage solutions are designed to achieve this by preventing cross-contamination. This study examines the efficiency of current practices at prevent...