THE JULICH-ENVIRONMENTAL-SPECIMEN-BANK

The environmental specimen bank of the Federal Republic of Germany rep resents the modern form of a systematically designed archive for the p reservative storage of selected environmental specimens. Major aims of environmental specimen banks are: (i) retrospective identification an d quantification of environmental chemicals including those not known at the time of storage; (ii) retrospective replicate analysis of sampl es stored under preservative conditions for the determination of inorg anic elements or organic compounds already examined; and (iii) retrosp ective control of the success of legislative environmental protection measures in handling chemicals regarded as hazardous for man and the e nvironment. Results of the environmental specimen bank at Julich by th e Institute of Applied Physical Chemistry, Research Centre Julich, KFA , obtaining the initiated legislative regulations providing environmen tal pollution, are already proved for various compartments.