Compound Specific Isotope Analysis
Revealing Nature's Evidence

Nature has provided an internal tracer in the form of the isotopic ratio. Processes such as biotic and abiotic degradation cause significant isotopic effects.

Compound Specific Isotope Analysis generates isotopic characterization of individual compounds which can be used to quantitatively assess degradation processes.

Microseeps is the first commercial laboratory in North America to offer Compound Specific Isotope Analysis.

 

How Can CSIA's Isotopic Data Help Achieve Site Closure?

The isotopic data provided by CSIA can be used to:

• unambiguously determine that biodegradation of COCs is occurring
• identify the mechanisms of degradation
• determine the rate and extent of degradation in some COCs

And perhaps most importantly, when isotopic constraints are integrated into reactive transport models,

• these become powerful predictive tools for assessing the extent and duration of contaminant plumes, thus decreasing monitoring and remediation costs.

 

CSIA, the Evidence is Clear

CSIA is an evolving technique as the result of research over the last 30 years. New instrumentation has become commercially available which allows the analysis of carbon and hydrogen isotopic content of compounds of interest in a continuous flow mode at concentrations of interest in environmental remediation.

Read more about Microseeps' CSIA capabilities and the science supporting it:

•   CSIA Fact Sheet
•   CSIA Technical Paper
•   Microseeps in the News