Detection and Monitoring of Pollutants Some Basic Rules

2 Detection and Monitoring of Pollutants Some Basic Rules 

Let s begin the discussion with a question 240mgNO3/l have been detected in a farm well, much above the permissible concentration for domestic water. What should be done  

Two steps are needed (1) notify the local population of the finding and (2) search for the source of the contaminant. 

The first step in the search is to establish the time when the pollutant arrived, and, in a case like nitrate, to find out whether it is from a local natural source or a manmade phenomenon  

When a pollutant is detected, all contamination sources should be considered. Knowledge of the pollutant arrival time may eliminate some suspected sources that started to operate at later dates, and helps narrow the list of possible sources of contamination. Hence the need for historic data (section 7.5). This information may be gathered from archives at local 

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