Gwen O'Sullivan

• B.Sc., Ph.D.
• Professor at Mount Royal University

Soil salinization impacts millions of hectares of land around the world and threatens many soilecosystem services. Impacts of soil salinization are long lasting and impact agriculture productivity, reduce plant diversity and cause increase soil erosion due a reduction or loss in surface vegetation. Generally, remediation of saline soil relies on so...

In this study, we introduce a simple three-step workflow for a universally applicable RI system, to be used in GC×GC analysis of ignitable liquid residue (ILR) for arson investigations. The proposed RI system applies a combination of two well-established GC RI systems: non-isothermal Kovats (K) index in the first dimension and Lee (L) index in the...

Occupational exposure to oil fumes, organophosphates, halogenated flame retardants, and other volatile and semi-volatile contaminants is a concern within the aviation industry. There is no current consensus on the risk attributed to exposure to these chemical classes within the aircraft cabin. Contaminant concentrations rarely exceed conventional a...

Two Guillemot carcases were dissected, each providing 12 discrete tissue samples and 3 samples of partially digested food. One hundred and five PCBs from the 209 PCBs determined by GCxGC-ToFMS were detected. The relative proportions of individual PCBs did not vary greatly within tissue types, although the PCB profile from undigested food could be d...

This study is the first investigation of biodegradation of carbon disulphide (CS2) in soil that provides estimates of degradation rates and identifies intermediate degradation products and carbon isotope signatures of degradation. Microcosm studies were undertaken under anaerobic conditions using soil and groundwater recovered from CS2-contaminated...

Potable water on aircraft is currently monitored for microbiological contaminants of water quality such as E. coli, but because the source water for aircraft is pre-treated water from municipalities, chemical contaminants are not assessed. This neglects the possibility of aircraft pneumatic systems, interconnected with other systems such as the eng...

Potable water on aircraft is currently monitored for microbiological contaminants of water quality such as E. coli, but because the source water for aircraft is pre-treated water from municipalities, chemical contaminants are not assessed. This neglects the possibility of aircraft pneumatic systems, interconnected with other systems such as the eng...

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 preventing cross-contamination in the presence of a sampl...

Ignitable liquid residue (ILR) samples play an important role in fire investigations. Similar to other types of forensic evidence, maintaining sample integrity depends on the prevention of cross-contamination during both storage and transport. This study examines cross-contamination in ILR samples on various sample matrices (gravel, soil, wood). Af...

Air pollution is a major environmental and public health issue in urban areas. Biomonitoring using trees has been widely used to determine atmospheric pollution due to its advantages of low cost, high spatial distribution, and accumulation of a wide range of air contaminants. However, challenges exist in applying the data obtained from biomonitorin...

In forensic science, the emission of odours from objects or biological matrices is exploited for different purposes. For example, the monitoring of odours via biological or analytical detectors is used in thanatochemistry, the chemistry of death. The analysis of decomposition odour can be explored to support the localization of a missing body, a sc...

The abundance and composition of matrix compounds in fire debris samples undergoing ignitable liquid residue analysis frequently leads to inconclusive results, which can be diminished by applying comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC). Method development must be undertaken to fully utilize the potential of GC × GC by maximizing...

Large volumes of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) are generated during the extraction of bitumen from oil sands in the Athabasca region of northeastern Alberta, Canada. As part of the development of treatment technologies, molecular characterization of naphthenic acids (NAs) and naphthenic acid fraction compounds (NAFC) in wetlands is a topi...

The relationship between climate change and wildfires was examined to summarize factors associated with vulnerability to wildfires. The complex and cyclic nature of interaction effects between the two was highlighted and the following conclusions were drawn. Climate change is leading to more frequent wildfires with higher intensity, resulting in re...

Conifer needles bioaccumulate atmospheric pollutants, including trace metals, and may be used to monitor variations in atmospheric concentration. Needles were analyzed to determine whether a correlation exists between elevations and trace metal concentrations in proximity to roadways and other non-point sources. Composite samples of white spruce (P...

Dendroecology and phytoscreening investigations are emerging forensic techniques that have attained scientific maturity in terms of their ability to provide corroborative evidence of contaminant releases in soil and groundwater. In some cases, dendroecology can also provide insight regarding causal relationships between a contaminant release and th...

Landscapes and watersheds are complex cultural biogeoclimatic systems that are not easily bounded, measured or understood by a single body of expertise. This makes it very challenging to locate and synthesize the best available science to identify what decision‐makers need to know about landscape and watershed impacts of hydraulic fracturing. ‘Land...

This chapter identifies key treaties, statutes, regulations, and case law pertaining to the control of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the federal governments in the United States and Canada. The chapter also discusses the standards for use and presentation of forensic science in the courtroom during legal proceedings involving POPs and leg...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs) are frequently detected in grass, soil and farm animals near incineration plants, electric transformers recycling facilities, or after major fires during environmental forensic investigations. The sale of farm animals for food above established PCBs and PCDD/F limits is forbidden,...

During the bitumen extraction from the oil sands of Alberta, large volumes of process water containing naphthenic acids are stored in tailing ponds. The naphthenic acids along with other components in the processed waters are known to be toxic in aquatic environments. In view of the complex matrix and the toxicity of the processed waters, there is...

Worldwide there is concern about the continuing release of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) into the environment. To complete an environmental forensic investigation of POPs in the terrestrial environment, an understanding of the source, fate, and behavior of POPs in terrestrial media is required. This chapter examines a variety of terrestrial...

Environmental Forensics for Persistent Organic Pollutants was conceived as a treatise with the objective of providing a comprehensive examination of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Environmental Forensics for Persistent Organic Pollutants exceeds this goal in an exceptional manner.

PCBs were first produced in 1929 and were widely used throughout the 20th century for a variety of industrial uses such as dielectric fluids, hydraulic fluids and plasticisers. Production rates decreased steadily throughout the 1970's as the health and environmental risks from PCBs began to be better understood. In the United States this resulted i...

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A forensic geo-gas investigation within an urban environment has identified distinct compositional and stable-isotope characteristics related to various reference sources of methane gas by using analytical techniques such as geochemical screening, stable-carbon and stable-hydrogen isotope analysis, and radioactive carbon-isotope analysis. The resul...

The generation of Fugitive methane gas generation may pose concerns due to nuisance from unpleasant odors at low concentration and risk of explosion at higher concentrations. Identification of the source of evolved methane, whether it is natural or anthropogenic in nature, is critical to mitigate the effects and to assign responsibility of risk and...

We present an advanced system for on-line position-specific carbon isotope analysis. The main limitation of on-line intramolecular isotope ratio measurements has been that optimal pyrolytic fragments are obtained mostly at temperatures where the analyte has not completely reacted. As a result of undetermined isotopic fractionation, the isotopic sig...

This publication includes peer-reviewed manuscripts from the 2009 International Network of Environmental Forensics (INEF) held in Calgary, Canada on August 31 through September 1, 2009. INEF is an organization founded by environmental forensic scientists for the express purpose of sharing and disseminating environmental forensic information to the...

This publication includes peer-reviewed manuscripts from the 2009 International Network of Environmental Forensics (INEF) held in Calgary, Canada on August 31 through September 1, 2009. INEF is an organization founded by environmental forensic scientists for the express purpose of sharing and disseminating environmental forensic information to the...

Here we propose a 'leap foward' with the application of Position Specific Isotope Analysis to Environmental Forensics, a topic which has a large un-tapped potential for biogeochemical / biodegradation studies. Compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) is a relatively new methods in Enviornmental Forenscis (figuring out where the contamination in th...

This study examined the range of carbon and hydrogen isotopes within a global set of gasolines to investigate the potential and limitations of isotopic analysis within environmental assessments of gasoline-contaminated sites. Bulk carbon and hydrogen isotope signatures within gasolines from the study had a range greater than 8‰ and 85‰, respectivel...