Understanding wastewater treatment technologies for alternative water use: transformation of inorganic and organic nitrogen. This project will identify sustainable treatment processes for nitrogen and pathogen removal in rural wastewater treatment systems. The outcomes will provide water utilities and regulators with practical recommendations for minimising chemical and microbial risks of alternative uses of treated wastewater, and improve rural long-term water security.
Advanced water treatment technologies to minimise nitrogenous disinfection by-products in drinking water: understanding the role of organic nitrogen. This project will identify improved methods for treatment of drinking water to prevent the formation of potentially hazardous disinfection by-products. It will assist water resource managers and regulators to select the most economical and safe treatment for each type of water source and to plan for future demands on our limited water supplies.
A global platform for identifying emerging chemical threats. This project aims to develop an automated early warning social network to systematically detect newly identified emerging chemical threats. Rapid identification of chemical exposures is key to managing chemical threats and associated risks. Global collaboration and sharing of archived, high-resolution mass spectrometry data through open/social platforms will revolutionise data processing and chemical threat identification. This project ....A global platform for identifying emerging chemical threats. This project aims to develop an automated early warning social network to systematically detect newly identified emerging chemical threats. Rapid identification of chemical exposures is key to managing chemical threats and associated risks. Global collaboration and sharing of archived, high-resolution mass spectrometry data through open/social platforms will revolutionise data processing and chemical threat identification. This project will result in a new and cost-effective approach for the identification, tracking and prioritisation of emerging chemical threats and address key national and global health risks. The outcomes include the first spatial and temporal distribution of new emerging chemical threats in Australia.Read moreRead less
Uncovering Antarctica’s Secret Chemical Voyagers for Expedited Regulation. This project aims to strengthen global chemical policy by rapidly identifying chemicals that demonstrate environmental persistence and mobility, two requisite risk criteria for regulatory action. It will take the novel approach of applying powerful non-target chemical screening approaches to Antarctic environmental media, leveraging the remoteness of Antarctica to derive unambiguous evidence against the key risk criteria. ....Uncovering Antarctica’s Secret Chemical Voyagers for Expedited Regulation. This project aims to strengthen global chemical policy by rapidly identifying chemicals that demonstrate environmental persistence and mobility, two requisite risk criteria for regulatory action. It will take the novel approach of applying powerful non-target chemical screening approaches to Antarctic environmental media, leveraging the remoteness of Antarctica to derive unambiguous evidence against the key risk criteria. Research will uncover a new catalogue of proven persistent and mobile chemicals, and further assess their ubiquity and biomagnification potential in the Antarctic system. Project findings will be directly disseminated to policymakers, facilitating expedited regulatory decision-making for improved Planetary Health outcomes.Read moreRead less
Unintentional surfactant facilitated solubilisation and transport of apparently immobile chemicals. This research will improve qualitative and quantitative understanding on surfactant facilitated transport processes of apparently immobile contaminants. The project's goal is to provide a modelling approach that ultimately can be applied to assess and predict groundwater and offsite contamination risks in areas where surfactants are commonly used.
Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. This project aims to develop a model and parameters that describe transport and co-transport of fluoro-surfactants and hydrocarbons, priority pollutants with a wide range of physico-chemical properties, at coastal airports. Sixty percent of Australian airports are in the coastal plain, and all are affected by contamination from internationally banned fluoro-surfactants and ....Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. This project aims to develop a model and parameters that describe transport and co-transport of fluoro-surfactants and hydrocarbons, priority pollutants with a wide range of physico-chemical properties, at coastal airports. Sixty percent of Australian airports are in the coastal plain, and all are affected by contamination from internationally banned fluoro-surfactants and hydrocarbons. Their extensive past use at firefighting training grounds resulted in costly remediation worldwide. Understanding the fate of persistent fluoro-surfactants from point sources, and their role in transporting non-polar chemicals such as hydrocarbons, will improve risk-based decision making. This research is expected to form the basis for effective risk management and intervention strategies.Read moreRead less
Reducing glyphosate exposure from high use practices. This project aims to investigate methods of reducing occupational exposure to glyphosate, a ubiquitous pollutant of emerging concern. This will be achieved through developing new cost-effective analytical and sampling tools and refining methods for integrating human exposure (biomonitoring) data with surveillance data on the pathways of glyphosate exposure from high use. The project will generate new targeted knowledge on (sub) population-spe ....Reducing glyphosate exposure from high use practices. This project aims to investigate methods of reducing occupational exposure to glyphosate, a ubiquitous pollutant of emerging concern. This will be achieved through developing new cost-effective analytical and sampling tools and refining methods for integrating human exposure (biomonitoring) data with surveillance data on the pathways of glyphosate exposure from high use. The project will generate new targeted knowledge on (sub) population-specific chemical exposures in Australia, and globally. Such data are critical to inform public health and chemical regulation policy, and provide clear guidance aimed at reducing exposures, to assess the effectiveness of existing regulations, and provide a framework for implementing surveys in the future.Read moreRead less
A novel path to environmental and human health risk assessment of transformation products. Chemical pollution is a threat to our rivers and drinking water supplies. Degradation during water treatment and in the environment may lead to persistent and toxic transformation products. This project will provide a practical and cost-efficient risk assessment strategy for transformation products - to help ensure that our drinking water is safe.