Mitigating the risk of micropollutants in the environment

The vision of this research is to achieve a chemical safe world where the benefits of modern products and processes can be enjoyed by all without undue detriment to the planetary ecosystem on which all life depends. It aims to improve our understanding and prediction of a key uncertainty (i.e. microbial biotransformation) that underpins ways in which society can reduce the risks posed by potentially hazardous chemicals to environmental and human health. Such chemicals are manufactured and present in many everyday products that benefit the health and well-being of consumers world-wide, and the economic prosperity and productivity of societies, examples include: personal care, domestic and hygiene products; pesticides; pharmaceuticals; and plastics. Environmental and human exposure to these chemicals can occur throughout the life cycle of a product; from its manufacture, distribution and use, to exposure after disposal and breakdown of the product. There has been widespread concern about the pervasive use of chemicals and their potential dangerous side-effects on wildlife and humans ever since Rachel Carson's landmark book in 1962 about the environmental hazards of the pesticide DDT. For instance, the 'feminising' effects on fish populations caused by low concentrations of natural and synthetic estrogens (e.g. in the contraceptive pill) and their chemical mimics (so-called micropollutants) is well publicised. It is widely suspected, though not proven, that many micropollutants are linked to cancers, reproductive and developmental diseases in humans. In fact there has been a relative rise in the incidence of such chronic diseases in the last two decades, making them surpass infectious diseases as the biggest global killer. These facts together with other case studies of environmental, occupational and consumer hazards, have led the European Union to enact the precautionary principle in a number of comprehensive legislative directives including chemical regulation and management of the water environment to protect the environment and human health. Analysis has shown that the benefit of such measures far out way their costs.The ways in which we can reduce risks to these chemicals are: i) by identifying hazardous chemicals and restricting their manufacture, distribution and use more effectively - so called chemical regulationii) by improving engineered technologies to remove hazardous chemical pollutants when they are released into the environment e.g. wastewater treatment worksiii) designing chemicals that have no hazardous properties - so called green chemicals . Microbial biotransformations, such as biodegradation by bacteria, play a direct and key role in each of these risk reduction strategies. In chemical regulation (i above), biodegradation is one of the most important factors in determining the extent and likelihood that a given chemical will persist in the environment (air, water, soil and sediment) and therefore the likely concentration to which wildlife and humans will be exposed. Known hazardous (toxic) chemicals tend to persist longer than non-hazardous ones. Biodegradation is also a central process in which many engineered technologies remove chemical pollutants (ii above). We also need to evaluate biodegradation in order to understand what chemical structures are resistant to biodegradation, and thereby avoid their use in the design of new products (iii above). This research has two objectives towards providing greater certainty and improvements in risk mitigation strategies:1. To build a world class team to tackle this challenging issue.2. To discover the fundamental rules that govern micropollutant biotransformation through case studies.The research will benefit policy-makers, governmental regulatory agencies, the chemical and water industries, and eventually the whole of society as this scientific understanding improves ways in which chemical risks are managed.

Our project partners will benefit most immediately from the research as they will have greater access to the knowledge and data that we generate, the expertise and facilities we possess, and the technologies and tools that we develop. Our project partners are; - AstraZeneca (in particular their regulatory ecotoxicology lab, Brixham Environmental Laboratory), which is a world-leading pharmaceutical company; - Northumbrian Water Ltd., a large water and sewerage service provider; - Unilever, a global domestic, personal, and food-product company; and - UK Water Industry Research Ltd., an organisation subscribed by UK water operators to facility research on one voice issues. The other primary beneficiaries of the research will be other chemical and water industries, their representatives (e.g. UKWIR, the European Chemical Industries Council), their governmental regulators (e.g. the Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive, and Defra in the UK), and decision-makers in the UK and elsewhere. The immediate wider tangible benefits of the research will be: 1. greater dialogue between the chemical and water industry and their regulators 2. a knowledge base with which to; o improve the prioritisation, screening and hazard classification of chemicals, through a combination of improved internationally-recognised regulatory tests, strategies and predictive models o reduce micropollutant pollution with little or no extra energy/carbon costs by effectively operating existing wastewater treatment works or appropriate cost-effective decisions on investing in new technologies o provide sound evidence for better decision-making (policy) on appropriate micropollutant mitigation strategies o generate an information database of the effect that chemical structures have on the fate of micropollutants 3. the provision of highly qualified, skilled and interdisciplinary environmental engineers and scientists trained to lead organisations and take on future societal challenges In the medium to long term this will lead to: 1. new information, guidance, tools (e.g. software/computer models) and technologies (water and wastewater treatment) to better manage the risks posed by chemicals. 2. greener chemicals that have the beneficial functions required for the consumer, without any of the detrimental side-effects to the environment or human health. This could be a source of economic prosperity for chemical and water industries, and regulators in the UK and elsewhere. Some of our partners are international but UK based companies that are well placed to be at the forefront of such benefits. Overall it should improve the competitiveness of UK and international chemical companies operating in the European Union by streamlining the manufacture of chemicals in favour of less hazardous ones. In the long-term our science will help to implement the precautionary principle in a sustainable way with respect to chemical hazards thus: 1. improving the environment in which we live, thereby reducing costs to clean it up 2. improving the health, wealth and well-being of society as a consequence of preventative measures to reduce risks to health and the environment posed by hazardous chemicals.