Speciation of emerging contaminants in wetland systems

Context:
The term "emerging contaminants" is used to describe a group of mostly organic pollutants present at low levels in
the freshwater environment. These compounds include pharmaceuticals, personal care products and industrial
chemicals, which typically enter the environment through effluent from industry, agriculture, wastewater treatment
and storm overflows. Potential adverse effects to both the environment and human health are not fully understood,
however there is growing concern surrounding links to antimicrobial resistance and endocrine disrupting activity.
Conventional wastewater treatment plants are not efficient in removing these contaminants and constructed wetlands
are being looked to as a long-term, nature driven solution to the problem.
Aims and objectives:
The aim of the project is to better understand how pharmaceuticals and personal care products behave within a
constructed wetland, in order to assess the potential for these features to treat point sources of organic
micropollutants in the environment.
The project is split into 3 main objectives:
1. To assess behaviour of micropollutants in a full-scale wetland system through seasonal sampling and analysis
using mass spectrometry techniques.
2. To verify transformation pathways using lab-controlled microcosms, investigating chemical targets identified in
objective 1
3. To assess the ecotoxicity of chosen chemical targets and effectiveness of the wetland system in their removal,
using bioassays.
Potential applications and benefits:
The project will contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the behaviour of emerging contaminants in the
freshwater environment. The project will also provide evidence to Wessex Water on the performance of a specific
wetland system, and potentially inform design and policy in the use of constructed wetlands for the purpose of
emerging contaminant removal.
Relevance to the research council:
This project is funded by NERC through the GW4 FRESH centre for do ctoral training. The project objectives are in
line with NERC's goal to "lead a diverse research community committed to environmental solutions" (https://
nerc.ukri.org/about/whatwedo/strategy/).
The project falls within the topic of "freshwater bioscience and sustainability" through the GW4 FRESH CDT and
addresses one of the 4 key challenges set out by FRESH, namely "emerging global change risks to freshwater
ecosystems" (https://www.gw4fresh.co.uk/about-fresh/).
Roles of the supervisory team:
The interdisciplinary nature of this project is reflected by an interdisciplinary supervisory team:
First supervisor: Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern - environmental chemistry (Bath)
Second supervisor: Jannis Wenk - chemical engineering (Bath)
Third supervisor: Richard Evershed - biogeochemistry and mass spectrometry (Bristol)
Fourth supervisor: Charles Tyler - environmental biology and ecotoxicology (Exeter)
Industry partner: Wessex Water - Ruth Barden - environmental management