Project Summary This project will evaluate the sources and occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the marine coastal and transitional waters. This project will directly address the current lack of cost-effective methods to detect low concentration of CECs in marine water by application of advanced mass spectrometry and passive sampling techniques. These methods will significantly increase the capability to detect CECs, which constitutes an essential step in conducting long-term analyses in Irish waters, which will ultimately allow the development of new regulations and policies to protect the marine environment. The project will also identify coastal geographical areas of concern to be targeted for future investigation or management actions.

The objectives of I-SECURE are the following:
• To generate novel data and new compound information on the occurrence and fate of CECs in transitional and coastal waters using novel technologies and field studies for risk-selected coastal and transitional locations.
• To study the impacts of CECs on marine biota, from shellfish to top predators.
• To prioritise monitoring locations and chemical groups by combining the screening and toxicology data in support of national policy objectives and international best practices (e.g., OSPAR, NORMAN).
• To identify risk-based approaches for marine monitoring in areas of concern and propose further investigations.

The proposed project will benefit marine research capacity in Ireland by increasing human capacity in CEC monitoring in coastal and transitional waters, by enhancing the capability to generate marine data on CECs with advanced technologies, and by identifying multiple avenues for future research projects and external funding.

Partners Dublin City University Marine Institute University of Portsmouth RECETOX Agilent

Collaborators / Researchers DCU Research Team Marine Institute University of Portsmouth Recetox Agilent Dr. Tarun Anumol Prof. Fiona Regan Dr. Belinda Huerta Dr. Brendan McHugh Dr. Evan McGovern Prof. Gary Fones Prof. Branislav Vrana

My work focuses on the evaluation of the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern in the aquatic environment, their fate in biotic and abiotic environmental compartments and their transformation mechanisms, as well as the potential risk they pose for aquatic ecosystems and public health. During my career, I have gained expertise on analytical method development, chemical structure elucidation, and bioactivity of anthropogenic compounds. With a solid background in the field of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, I have been actively involved in several inter and multi-disciplinary scientific collaborations, which have built my knowledge and expertise in the fields of Toxicology, Microbiology, and Chemical Biology. After obtaining the bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences at the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain) (2003-2007), I completed my Master thesis at the UAM and Mälardalen University (Sweden) between 2007-2009 and obtained my PhD at the University of Girona (Spain) in 2016. During the period 2015-2020, I continued my scientific career as a postdoctoral researcher at Brunel University London (UK), Michigan State University (US), and the University of Montpellier (France). Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the DCU Water Institute, where I am working on developing novel tools based on cutting-edge instrumental techniques (e.g., High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry) for chemical screening in the marine environment and prioritization of emerging groups of contaminants in the Irish marine environment. Postdoctoral Fellow profile Belinda Huerta Contact

Funding statement Irish marine screening and assessment of emerging
contaminants in coastal and transitional
Environments (I-SECURE) This research (Grant-Aid Agreement No. PDOC/19/03/02)
is carried out with the support of the Marine Institute, funded
under the Marine Research Programme by the Irish Government.