Project title:
INVESTigating PFAS from Source to sink – Assessing risk to inform a PFAS STrategy in Ireland
Project Logo:
Project Summary:
INVEST pFASST aims to address the challenges posed by PFAS contamination in Ireland by identifying sources, pathways, and environmental risks. PFAS, synthetic chemicals found in industrial and consumer products, persist in the environment and threaten ecosystems and human health. Over four years, the project will collect and analyse PFAS occurrence data, map contamination patterns, and identify industrial and non-industrial sources. By integrating analytical data, environmental variables, and regulatory insights, INVEST pFASST will provide crucial information to inform risk management and policy development, supporting efforts to mitigate PFAS pollution and protect water quality.
Project Partners:
Environmental Protection Agency
Project team:
Our multidisciplinary project team has a variety of expert professionals which have been selected to contribute their unique perspectives and skill sets to aid in the success of this project.
Professor Fiona Regan is a professor of analytical chemistry with the school of chemical science within Dublin City University. She is also the founder and director of DCU’s water institute. Fiona’s research focuses primarily on environmental monitoring of emerging contaminants in water. Recent projects that she has been involved with have addressed novel analytical methods, passive sampling methods for monitoring low level contamination, prioritisation of chemicals measured in catchment-based monitoring, and Watch List monitoring on behalf of the EPA from 2018-2022
Professor Stuart Harrad is Professor of Environmental Chemistry in the University of Birmingham’s School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences. Including his PhD that established background concentrations of dioxins and PCBs in UK soils, he has amassed 37 years’ experience in the development and application of advanced analytical methods for the assessment of trace organic contaminants in various biological and environmental matrices. In recent years, Harrad has led a number of projects addressing issues related to the presence of PFAS and other persistent halogenated chemicals in the environment, including the EPA-funded TERRACHEM, SAFER, FUEL, ELEVATE, and WAFER projects, as well as the EU-funded projects A-TEAM, ELUTE, INFLAME, INTERFLAME, INTERWASTE, and PERFORCE-3. He is a member of the UK government’s Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee and the Advisory Board of the International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants, serves on the editorial board of the prestigious Environment International journal, and is Editor-in-Chief of both the Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment and Emerging Contaminants with the latter already in the top quartile of journals for the field of Environmental Science following its launch in 2015.
Yulong Ma is currently a Doctoral Researcher funded by a Global Challenges Scholarship award at the University of Birmingham, due to graduate in spring/summer of 2023. His doctoral studies involve developing and validating analytical methods for the measurement of persistent halogenated organic contaminants in a wide range of environmental matrices relevant to human exposure. Including his research Master’s degree at Minzu University in China, Ma has eight years of experience in developing and applying various mass spectrometric techniques to measuring concentrations of halogenated organic contaminants in a wide variety of matrices in China, the UK, and the USA (where he is currently on secondment at Indiana University for 3 months). Overall, Ma has substantial experience of novel method development for sample collection, analytical laboratory work, and instrumental methods including both GC-MS and LC-MS.
Christopher Newton provides a lead role on geoenvironmental/contaminated land and groundwater matters within Arup Ireland providing technical advice on risk assessment relating to land contamination, groundwater and surface water, waste soil classification and asbestos in soil. Outside of Arup Christopher actively participates in working groups leading the Ireland Brownfield Network Emerging Contaminants Sub-Groups with other experts promoting good practice in the field of land contamination in Ireland. Christopher also recently carried out research for Arup on PFAS and is recognised within the Arup as an expert on PFAS and risk assessment. He has a wealth of experience on the assessment of environmental risks on human health and the environment (land, soil, water and marine). Christopher has carried out numerous groundwater risk assessments for licenced sites and has a deep understanding of the Irish regulations that apply to groundwater and surface water and their relevance to the project. He is ideally suited to support the Work Package 4 will work with an MSc student supporting them in completing the package. His expertise on risk assessment and experience working on development sites, landfills or industrial sites allows him to bring practical insight to the project team.
Leila Bowe has joined the team as a Master of Science student and will be focusing her research on source identification, applications and risk in Ireland. Leila currently works as an Environmental Engineer for project industry partner, Arup. She has 4 years’ post-graduate experience in the contaminated land management industry; 3 of which were in Australia, where she was involved in soil and groundwater PFAS risk assessments.
Helen Burke Helen graduated from DCU in 2022 with a BSc. in Environmental Science and Technology. Helen worked with Prof. Fiona Regan during her 4th year research project in which she evaluated citizen science tools for water quality monitoring, investigating well known pollutants such as phosphate and nitrogen. Helen’s role as a PhD student in this project is to establish an analytical method from which the concentration of target PFAS can be determined across a number of relevant matrices so that trends in the environment can be investigated.
Karly Korte is the Communications Officer at the DCU Water Institute and a recent graduate of DCU’s Master of Health and Science Communication program. With a background in public health, she previously worked as a community health worker in the U.S. public health system, focusing on preventative care after earning her Bachelor’s in Public Health from Wayne State University. Her experience supporting underserved communities fueled her passion for crafting clear, engaging, and accessible communications that empower audiences with the knowledge they need to make informed health and environmental decisions.
Funded by:
This project is funded by the EPA Research Programme (2021-2030). The EPA Research Programme is a Government of Ireland initiative funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. It is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, which has the statutory function of coordinating and promoting environmental research.
https://www.epa.ie/our-services/research/epa-research-2030/
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Twitter @INVESTpFASST
E-mail: INVESTpFASST@gmail.com
Disclaimer:
Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material contained in this website, complete accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor the authors accept any responsibility whatsoever for loss or damage occasioned or claimed to have been occasioned, in part or in full, as a consequence of any person acting or refraining from acting, as a result of a matter contained in this website.