An introduction to a multiparameter approach to improve the reliability of environmental crime evidence

Abstract

Obtaining sound evidence of environmental pollution crimes is usually challenging in environments impacted by multiple sources. This is particularly true when the situation involves running waters systems and the contaminants discharged by the suspect facility must be searched in stream-bed sediments, which are typically heterogeneous in terms of texture and composition. The heterogeneity reflects on the high variability of contaminant content, which implies that a large number of samples must be analyzed in order to reduce the uncertainty of the resulting data to an acceptable level. In environmental crimes investigations, where the State or “People” must provide the scientific proof, resources as laboratory analyses are few, and there are also time restrains, therefore, more effective and fit-for-purpose methodologies must be developed and tested in order to provide the justice operators a reliable evidence in a feasible manner. The present work introduces a case study of leachate discharge from a hazardous waste landfill in a heavily polluted watercourse where the use of a multiparameter approach using metals, stable isotope and organics analysis in stream-bed sediments was performed as an exploratory means provide evidence of this possible crime. A brief review of methods that explore multiple variables to add qualitative consistency for the results obtained is also presented.