The University of Basra Organizes a Course on Methods for Measuring Environmental Toxins

The Marine Sciences Center organized a course titled “Methods for Measuring Environmental Toxins.”

The course aimed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify, extract, quantify, and analyze toxic pollutants in various environmental samples (water, air, soil, food), with the goal of assessing environmental and health risks and monitoring environmental quality.

The course, presented by Assoc. Prof. Balqis Suhaym Abbas, Assoc. Prof. Dhafar Zahir Habib, and Prof. Iman Abdullah Abd al-Aal,

a definition of environmental toxins, their sources, types (organic, inorganic, biological), and methods of transfer within ecosystems. It also outlined the stages of analysis: sampling, preservation, preparation (extraction, cleaning, concentration), and chemical separation.

This was accompanied by an explanation of analytical techniques: Use of modern instruments such as gas chromatography (GC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry (MS), and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and an explanation of bioassays: measuring toxicity using microorganisms, plants, or living cells. With quality control: Calibration standards, blank samples, limits of detection and quantification, and interpretation of results compared to permissible limits.