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Content archived on 2024-05-28

Overlooked Unresolved Toxic Organic Pollutants: Resolution, Identification, Measurement and Toxicity:OUTREACH

Objective

Organic pollution exceeds an area greater than that of France+Germany. Toxic, persistent, unresolved and unidentified, complex mixtures (UCMs) of organic chemicals are abundant all over the globe. These UCMs, which encompass a number of chemical classes, are outside present EU and world pollutant regulations. It is very important that these toxicants are identified, measured and their effects studied. Until recent work in my lab, few methods allowed such UCMs to be identified. Even now, we have only made studies of unresolved alkylated derivatives of benzene; there are numerous other unstudied classes of UCM chemicals widespread in the environment. These will be amenable to study by the new methods once optimised and new high throughput screening methods will then allow 10,000 chemicals per day to be tested for toxicity. In the present project, firstly, novel gas chromatography x gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToF-MS) methods will be used to separate, identify and measure, novel UCM compounds isolated from water soluble fractions of a range of crude oils; secondly, the same methods will be used to identify previously UCM toxicants in polluted mussels collected from a range of global locations. Thirdly, representatives of each compound class will be synthesised and toxicities assayed using mussel feeding rates, amphipod reproduction and growth rates and fish hepatocyte assays. Finally, the UCMs, newly resolved and identified in polluted mussels will be isolated and fractionated by preparative high performance liquid chromatography and their toxicities assayed, in an effects-directed approach. This will establish definitively the range of compounds in the UCMs that are toxic, and will deliver new methods by which UCMs may be routinely assayed and no longer overlooked. The major outcome of this investigation will be much improved assessment of the effects of organic chemical pollutants on the health of the global coastal marine environment

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Topic(s)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

ERC-2008-AdG
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant

Host institution

UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH
EU contribution
€ 1 842 062,00
Address
DRAKE CIRCUS
PL4 8AA Plymouth
United Kingdom

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Region
South West (England) Devon Plymouth
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Beneficiaries (3)

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