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You have no doubt heard about Chain of Custody (COC) issues in the many forensic TV shows on our screens. The shows where faulty documentation destroys an otherwise carefully prepared case and the criminal goes free!  So exactly what is a COC?  It is the chronological ‘paper’ trail, showing the collection, transfer, receipt, analysis, storage, and disposal of a sample. At all stages, the sample is in someone’s custody—that person is responsible for it.

The COC is just as important in environmental  and agricultural sciences -the integrity of the sampling, testing and reporting chain is very important

 

Did you hate chemistry at school because it was boring? Daunting?   But now you need to understand environmental chemistry basics for your job?  Have a look at our  new Environmental-Chemistry course which starts at basics and leads you into the fascinating world of chemicals in the environment.  Become familiar with names like POPs (sounds friendly but it isn’t – Persistent Organic Pollutants) and PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons released when fuels or organic matter are burned).Learn the difference between oxygen and ozone. Understand how, what and where chemicals occur in air, water and soil, including the good, the bad, the ugly.