ISIAQ STC 11 (Sources, Monitoring and Evaluation: Chemical Pollutants) have hosted webinars to
increase communication within the STC11 and expanding our outreach. The upcoming webinar will be
on the topic of “New instrumentation/monitoring techniques for faster knowledge”. Below is the
webinar information. Please mark your calendar and join us to learn more!
Date: February 13th, 2020 • 9:00‐10:00 am. U.S. Eastern Standard Time
Outlines: Presentations (2×20minutes) and Discussions (20 minutes)
Presentation 1: Non‐Targeted Analysis Approaches in Environmental Chemistry
Presenter: Dr. James McCord is a Chemist in the Multimedia Methods Branch of the Environmental
Protection Agency. He received a PhD in analytical chemistry, with a minor in molecular biotechnology
from North Carolina State University. Dr. McCord’s specialty is in high‐resolution mass spectrometry
analysis of biological and environmental samples, with a focus on non‐targeted analysis, compound
discovery, and structural determination by mass spectrometry. His research focus is centered on
developing methods for non‐targeted analysis, automated screening and (semi‐)quantitation of
environmental chemicals. He also works on the identification and structural elucidation of emerging
environmental contaminants, such as per‐ and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS). For the past
several years, James has been leading analyst on state/regional PFAS projects in ORD, including the
GenX response in NC and ongoing studies in soil, water, air, and biota nationwide.
Abstract: Environmental exposure research has long revolved around targeted analysis of chemicals of
interest, generally relying on analytical standards and well understood chemical processes. In recent
years, technological advances have allowed the development of non‐targeted methods, whereby the
entire composition of a sample can be described and ultimately linked to human exposure,
epidemiology and/or toxicological outcomes. These techniques primarily revolve around high resolution
mass spectrometry (HRMS), specifically time‐of‐flight and Orbitrap mass spectrometers, for novel
compounds discovery and description. HRMS data can reveal unanticipated chemical species in all
manner of samples, while providing empirical chemical formulas, chemical class‐based assignments, and
potentially fully resolved structural information from MS/MS experiments. These instruments also
enable high‐throughput screening of complex samples against established databases of empirical data
collected from prior samples and/or reference chemical species. This talk will focus on general
experimental design in non‐targeted analysis (NTA) as well as high‐resolution mass spectrometry
instrumentation and data interpretation approaches in an environmental chemistry context.