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Hundreds of synthetic chemicals contaminate our food and water. Brunel's research shows harmful cumulative cocktail effects of low levels of contaminants in food and water, previously thought to be safe. The active translation of these results into European chemicals legislation also ensured a sound basis for including multiple chemical exposures in risk assessment. By working with the European Food Safety Authority, we demonstrated a viable approach to grouping chemicals for mixtures risk assessment. Based on our research, a totally new approach to grouping chemicals for mixtures risk assessment has been decided. This will influence maximum residue levels for toxic pesticides in food in Europe leading to better protection of consumers against the increased risks of harm due to multiple pesticide residues present in the majority of food items.
Public financing of health services in low income countries was challenged by the World Bank's Agenda for Reform in 1987, which advocated increased roles for private sector, private insurance and user fees. This was followed by a wave of reforms implementing this approach. McPake has been involved in researching the implications of this shift since this period and has published a series of influential articles that have had a demonstrable impact on this debate. Removal of user fees for all, or selected, services or for selected population groups has occurred in many countries, including 28 of 50 countries with the highest maternal and child health mortality included in a recent survey (http://bit.ly/17FUiDM). Witter is the lead researcher who has examined country level experiences of removing fees and it is demonstrable that her work has been applied in specific countries to shape the details of policy and has also had a major influence on the global debate.
Research on the environmental safety and toxicity of nanomaterials in fishes has had a global impact across both government and industry contributing to:
(i) Consensus building on biological effects allowing regulatory agencies/governments to make proper decisions on the hazard of nanomaterials to farmed fish and wildlife.
(ii) Critical evaluation of the internationally agreed process of toxicity testing to determine whether the current legislative test methods are fit for purpose and acceptable to the aquaculture industry.
(iii) Identification of national/international research priorities and policies via work with the OECD and the US Government.
(iv) Influencing government policy to support training and information for industry.
Over the past two decades, researchers at the Institute for the Environment (hereafter, the Institute) at Brunel University have generated substantive evidence supporting the case for regulation of discharges of pharmaceuticals into rivers and estuaries throughout Europe and for improved sewage treatment, with significant implications for water quality, aquatic life and public confidence. Their research has led to improved sewage treatment in some countries and to changes in the European Water Framework Directive (WFD; the primary legislation for protecting and conserving European water bodies), such that regulatory limits for environmental concentrations of the contraceptive pill hormones, ethinylestradiol and oestradiol, are now included in River Basin Management Plans for 2015. In 2011, a Queen's Anniversary Trust Prize was awarded to Brunel University in recognition of the Institute's considerable success in translating this research into European policy, also influencing countries outside Europe.
The contamination of water sources is a serious threat to the environment and to human health. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) cause sexual dysfunction in fish, potentially affecting the health of fish populations in the UK and abroad. Prof. Hill's research has used bioassays combined with chemical fractionation and mass-spectrometry profiling techniques to identify endocrine-disrupting chemicals present in wastewater effluents that are discharged into the environment and that can bio-accumulate in fish. This has enabled international and governmental organisations to assess the risk of chemical discharges to the environment, to develop tests to monitor the toxicity of these newly-discovered EDCs, and to inform policy decisions on environmental protection and conservation.
Methods for valuing quality of life developed by Professor Devlin at City University London are used internationally to help governments make healthcare decisions. Her research focuses on a widely-used questionnaire for measuring patient reported health, the European Quality of Life 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D). Government organisations routinely use the EQ-5D to judge whether new medicines work and are cost-effective. Over 15 countries are undertaking EQ-5D studies using Professor Devlin's methods to inform decisions on pricing and provision of new medicines. These developments have been achieved through active dissemination to the academic community and governments and through Professor Devlin's scientific leadership of the European Quality of Life (EuroQol) Group. The impact of this research is highly significant in improving health and health care decision-making and has had wide reach throughout the UK and in many other countries.
This case study concerns the impact of Plymouth University research relating to farmed fish diets, which led to changes to EU legislation with respect to two types of ingredients: animal proteins and probiotics. The impact of the reintroduction of certain animal proteins in farmed fish feeds (previously banned to protect human health) and to the authorization of a probiotic as a feed additive, involved industry investment in research, have reduced the environmental impact of farmed fishing, improved competitiveness, enhanced yield and quality and improved fish health and survival.
The main impact of this work has been to provide an evidence base to inform practice and policy in relation to nutrition and diet. Through our contribution to the international EURRECA Network of Excellence, we have developed resources accessible to international expert panels as they review micronutrient recommendations. In addition, this work has had a significant impact on the formation of two major new initiatives; BOND and Zinc-Net, both of which address global issues relating to zinc deficiency and human health. Our pioneering research activities in Pakistan are helping to transform nutrition support and quality of life in marginalised communities.
Plymouth University was the first to develop methods for identifying supercomplex `unresolved complex mixtures' of organic chemicals, including naphthenic acids. The chemicals are of particular environmental concern (e.g. in Canada because of their production during exploitation of the oil sands and globally as they result from spillages of petroleum such as in the Deepwater Horizon spill). The methods are now used by government agencies such as Environment Canada to monitor naphthenic acid pollutants. A consortium of international oil industries (e.g., BP, Chevron, Total) also now use Rowland's data to model oil pipeline blockage problems.
In 2008-2009 the UK was subject to legal infraction proceedings at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for allegedly failing to implement the European Union's Urban Waste-water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Research by the Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies, Hull (IECS) for the Environment Agency (EA)/Defra provided evidence to the UK Government for its defence against these allegations. The research consisted of:
- literature/data reviews and collection and analysis of critical evidence from the Humber.
- co-ordinating workshops and convening an expert panel of sufficient authoritative academic opinion to counteract the European Court of Justice allegations.
In December 2009 the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the UK. Our research therefore helped to save very significant, unnecessary capital investment in nutrient removal technology for sewage treatment nationally and in the Yorkshire and Humber region especially. The UK government thus avoided the possibility of major European Commission fines of up to €703,000 per day, or €256m per annum, for infraction of the Urban Water-water Treatment Directive [1].