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Perspectives of compound-specific isotope analysis of organic contaminants for assessing environmental fate and managing chemical pollution

Nature Water volume 2, pages 14–30 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

The management and mitigation of chemical pollution are key elements of sustainable development initiatives that aim to provide safe and clean water. While environmental scientists are developing the capabilities to assess the fate, (eco)toxicity and risks of a plethora of synthetic chemicals comprehensively, notorious pollution scenarios and decontamination challenges call for targeted and case-specific evaluation of chemical hazards. Here we review the utility and perspectives of compound-specific isotope analysis for obtaining an understanding of environmental processes that allows one to identify pollution sources, assess contaminant (bio)transformation and gain insights into reaction pathways. Using three prototypical scenarios of water contamination, namely point-source pollution of groundwater at contaminated sites, diffuse pollution of soils and surface waters through pesticide use and the abatement of pharmaceuticals and disinfection by-products in water treatment systems, we illustrate both success stories of compound-specific isotope analysis and current developments to address challenges for future applications.

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Fig. 1: Prototypical water pollution from point-sources, diffuse release of chemicals and from transformation during water treatment.
Fig. 2: CSIA-based assessment of point-source groundwater contamination with a mixture of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX).
Fig. 3: Source apportionment.
Fig. 4: Two scenarios for the assessment of diffuse pollution with CSIA.
Fig. 5: Compound-specific isotope analysis for studying water treatment systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    Thomas B. Hofstetter

  2. Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics (IBP), ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Thomas B. Hofstetter

  3. Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Water Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany

    Rani Bakkour & Martin Elsner

  4. Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Daniel Buchner, Stefan B. Haderlein & Philipp R. Martin

  5. Isodetect GmbH, Leipzig, Germany

    Heinrich Eisenmann & Anko Fischer

  6. Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany

    Matthias Gehre, Steffen Kümmel & Carsten Vogt

  7. Laboratoire de Chimie Environnementale-UMR 7376, Aix-Marseille Université-CNRS, Marseille, France

    Patrik Höhener

  8. Centre of Hydrogeology and Geothermics (CHYN), University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Daniel Hunkeler

  9. Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg (ITES), Université de Strasbourg/EOST/ ENGEES, CNRS UMR 7063, Strasbourg, France

    Gwenaël Imfeld

  10. Faculty of Chemistry, Instrumental Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Maik A. Jochmann & Torsten C. Schmidt

  11. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Sarah G. Pati

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Contributions

All authors conceived the scientific ideas and concepts presented in this Review as part a collaborative workshop series held between October 2022 and January 2023 by the Water Chemistry Division/Expert group on Stable Isotope Sciences of the German Chemical Society (GDCh). T.B.H., M.E., H.E., D.H., G.I. and T.C.S. wrote the introduction and designed the concept for Fig. 1. M.E., M.G., M.A.J., S.K., C.V. and S.G.P. summarized the principles of isotope fractionation and instrumental analysis. A.F. and D.H. wrote the section on contaminant hydrology with comments from M.E. and T.B.H. G.I., R.B., P.H., S.B.H. and P.R.M. composed the section on pesticide use and pollution control. T.B.H., D.B., M.A.J. and S.G.P. elaborated on applications in water treatment systems. M.E., D.H., T.B.H., G.I. and P.R.M. wrote the conclusion. T.B.H. and M.E. coordinated the workshop series and the writing process and prepared the consolidated versions of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Thomas B. Hofstetter or Martin Elsner.

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Competing interests

H.E. and A.F. are executive directors of Isodetect, which offers commercial CSIA for environmental samples. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Water thanks Tomasz Kuder and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Hofstetter, T.B., Bakkour, R., Buchner, D. et al. Perspectives of compound-specific isotope analysis of organic contaminants for assessing environmental fate and managing chemical pollution. Nat Water 2, 14–30 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00176-4

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