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In response to recent political developments in the U.S., many of our regular delegates have expressed concerns about traveling to Florida. Taking this feedback seriously, the INEF committee has decided to transition INEF 2025 into a virtual speaker series.
Each online session will focus on a specific topic and feature two live keynote presentations. Each session will conclude with a live Q&A, during which a session chair will moderate audience questions directed to both keynote speakers. The format and schedule, is set out below. To register for each session, please follow the link below. |
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Canine Detection & Fire Forensics - Monday, August 25, 8 am- 11 am (MST)
To register for this event, please do so here: https://eu01web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_d_xYssZQsCwoodRGZeVFg
Dr Lauryn Degreeff
Title: Understanding the canine detection of crude oils for spill remediation
Abstract: Oil spills cause significant damage to both the ecosystem and the economy in surrounding areas. Locating crude oil left behind after a spill is an important task for environmental remediation; however, current detection methods for locating obscured and subsurface oils following a spill are labor intensive and time consuming. While canines are known for their broad use by government and law enforcement agencies in the detection of drugs, explosives, and people; their application in environmental sectors, such as for the detection of spilled oil, is less known and studied. Canines are utilized for their keen olfactory capacity as well as for their reliability, versatility, and speed, and thus, have also been deployed as part of spill remediation teams. Traditional methods for onshore oil spill detection, specifically for subsurface oil, are labor intensive and time consuming. When included with the spill response team, canines have been shown to quickly locate oil deposits over large areas with high accuracy, reducing the time of the operation as well as the labor that traditional teams would need to employ with little risk to survey teams.
The headspace of crude oil is composed of a complex matrix of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), giving it a unique VOC profile allowing for canine detection. Furthermore, the VOC profiles of crude oils are subject to change possibly based on its source and due to degradation or weathering during and after a spill. To efficiently train canines, it is important to understand the olfactory targets (e.g. odorants) associated with crude oil used by the canines for detection and appreciate the changes in these odorants as the oil undergoes degradation and weathering. Additionally, understanding the differences in VOC profiles between sources can provide spill responders with a technique allowing them to trace crude oil back to the source in the case of an unknown spill. This presentation will discuss the use of solid phase microextraction with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) with canine olfactory testing to characterize and compare the VOC profiles of crude oils from varying geographic sources and degree of weathering.
Abstract: Oil spills cause significant damage to both the ecosystem and the economy in surrounding areas. Locating crude oil left behind after a spill is an important task for environmental remediation; however, current detection methods for locating obscured and subsurface oils following a spill are labor intensive and time consuming. While canines are known for their broad use by government and law enforcement agencies in the detection of drugs, explosives, and people; their application in environmental sectors, such as for the detection of spilled oil, is less known and studied. Canines are utilized for their keen olfactory capacity as well as for their reliability, versatility, and speed, and thus, have also been deployed as part of spill remediation teams. Traditional methods for onshore oil spill detection, specifically for subsurface oil, are labor intensive and time consuming. When included with the spill response team, canines have been shown to quickly locate oil deposits over large areas with high accuracy, reducing the time of the operation as well as the labor that traditional teams would need to employ with little risk to survey teams.
The headspace of crude oil is composed of a complex matrix of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), giving it a unique VOC profile allowing for canine detection. Furthermore, the VOC profiles of crude oils are subject to change possibly based on its source and due to degradation or weathering during and after a spill. To efficiently train canines, it is important to understand the olfactory targets (e.g. odorants) associated with crude oil used by the canines for detection and appreciate the changes in these odorants as the oil undergoes degradation and weathering. Additionally, understanding the differences in VOC profiles between sources can provide spill responders with a technique allowing them to trace crude oil back to the source in the case of an unknown spill. This presentation will discuss the use of solid phase microextraction with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) with canine olfactory testing to characterize and compare the VOC profiles of crude oils from varying geographic sources and degree of weathering.
Dr Court Sandau
Title: Coming Soon.
Abstract: Coming Soon.
Abstract: Coming Soon.
To watch a recording of the first session of our Speaker Series, please click here: https://youtu.be/ZGHkwfz_p80