Chromium occurrence in the environment and methods of its speciation

This article includes a survey of chromium (Cr) occurrence in different environmental compartments, its pathways in the environment and the cross-sectional presentation of Cr speciation methods against the background of Cr chemistry. The aim of the article is to demonstrate that knowledge of interconversion processes between different Cr forms is necessary to understand its behaviour and role in the environment, in addition to enabling reliable Cr speciation analysis to be performed. The current methods of Cr speciation are presented, characterized and their usefulness discussed. These must rely on superior separation and detection capabilities since Cr in environmental compartments is mostly at trace or ultra-trace level. The need for using unique techniques of sampling, storage, handling and separation for Cr speciation is documented.