Abstract Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic substances and may not be biodegraded in the environment and accumulate in the organisms. Environmental forensic investigations are aimed at identifying and studying these pollutants in different matrices in the forms of biological samples, air, water, and soil. This paper will focus on identifying the important processes in sample preparation in order to identify POPs in environmental forensic analyses. The sample preparation procedure is divided into a number of stages: sampling, sample extraction and purification. Some of the common methods of extraction are Solid Phase Extraction (SPE), Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE) and Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE). Recent technologies like the QuEChERS and passive sampling devices have also been implemented in order to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of the process. Proper sampling can guarantee good recovery; less solvent was used and the integrity of the analytes. Such procedures are important to present the accurate and dependable findings in the legal and regulatory settings, and make the forensic information defensible. Preparation of samples continues to be an integral part of environmental forensic research, which will increase the accuracy and dependability of data in the detection of POPs. The further improvements in the extraction methods lead to the more efficient and environmentally friendly forensic science.
Malik et al. (Mon,) studied this question.