Chemistry Matters Inc.

Chemistry Matters Inc.

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Experts in environmental forensics, geoforensics and biomonitoring studies and projects, especially with litigious matters.

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!

Statvis | Home 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

Statvis | Home 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!

GeoPro Talks: Online portal for forensic fingerprinting and understanding your Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) data โ€“ GeoEnviroPro 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

๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธ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 โš›๏ธ within the molecular structure.
For instance, ๐™ข๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™ค-PCBs contain only ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™š chlorine atom, whereas ๐™™๐™ž-PCBs contain ๐™ฉ๐™ฌ๐™ค.

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.

โš ๏ธHowever, it is important to note that using ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ for fingerprinting and source identification remains the ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต.

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 ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://bit.ly/3UoeFYp


Have a case involving PCBs or emerging contaminants you want to discuss? Comment below โคต๏ธor email us at [email protected] ๐Ÿ“จ

What Defines an Expert in Scientific Litigation Support? 03/19/2024

๐Ÿ”ฌIn 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!

๐Ÿ“–To dive deeper into knowledge mastery concept, check out CMI's founder, Dr. Court Sandau's blog:
๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—˜๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฐ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜?๐Ÿ‘‡
https://bit.ly/49YZV7y

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

What Defines an Expert in Scientific Litigation Support? 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! ๐ŸšจCheck out our NEWEST article that has since been published, "๐—œ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜†๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜†๐—น๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฌ๐˜€?"

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 ๐Ÿ‘‡https://bit.ly/3wUIOW1

๐Ÿ“š

Is current generation of polychlorinated biphenyls exceeding peak production of the 1970s? Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are man-made chemicals that were once widely produced as commercial mixtures for various industrial applications. PCBโ€ฆ

03/06/2024

Ever heard of the Mohan Criteria? ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ In the legal landscape, these guidelines from the Mohan criteria set the standards for the admissibility of data ๐Ÿ’ผ

The four criteria are:
โœ… Relevance: Evidence must make logical sense in the case.
โœ… Necessity: It should be essential for the trier of fact to grasp the issues.
โœ… Absence of Exclusionary Rule: No hearsay or exclusionary rules should apply.
โœ… 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 ๐Ÿ‘‡or [email protected]

๐Ÿ“–๐Ÿ‘

03/01/2024

Ever wondered how the courtroom decides if expert testimony makes the cut? ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธ For US based litigation, enter the Daubert factors..

1๏ธโƒฃ Methodology: Daubert demands experts lay out their scientific methods. No room for mystery โ€“ transparency is the name of the game.

2๏ธโƒฃ 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!

3๏ธโƒฃ Error Rates: How accurate is your methodology? Daubert wants to know about error rates. The lower, the better โ€“ precision is paramount.

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

๐Ÿ’ก So, there you have it! The Daubert factors are the checklist ensuring only the most reliable expert testimony graces the courtroom. ๐Ÿ”’โš–๏ธ Drop your thoughts or questions below!

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

๐Ÿ“œ๐Ÿค“

Case Study: Who Released These Contaminants into the Environment? 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 ๐™๐™ค๐™ฌ they determine who is responsible for it? ๐Ÿค”

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 ๐Ÿ‘‡
https://bit.ly/3wzJShK
Spoiler alert... it was natural!

Case Study: Who Released These Contaminants into the Environment? 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 โคต๏ธ
https://bit.ly/42LsdQ2

Knowing vs. Knowledge 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 โคต๏ธ for more info.
https://bit.ly/3UL2NQy

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

Cross-Contamination of Ignitable Liquid Residues on Wildfire Debrisโ€”Effects of Packaging and Storage on Detection and Characterization 02/15/2024

Check out our latest article on exploring defensible data for legal proceedings in fire debris analysis๐Ÿ”ฅ - just published last week!

๐Ÿ“–In the article we evaluate various practices in preventing cross-contamination of wildfire fire debris samples using cutting-edge GCร—GC-ToF MS technology.

Read the full study here๐Ÿ‘‰ https://bit.ly/42IOUV8

Cross-Contamination of Ignitable Liquid Residues on Wildfire Debrisโ€”Effects of Packaging and Storage on Detection and Characterization 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...

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