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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.
The burden of endocrine disease and disorders in global societies is higher than ever before and The Institute for the Environment's (IfE) research labelling chemicals in everyday use as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has been instrumental in closing a gap in chemicals regulation that previously left pregnant mothers insufficiently protected from exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals that could cause irreversible damage to their unborn life. Key impacts are: a) regulation, leading to bans and restrictions on the use of specific chemicals; b) a European Parliament call to implement better health protection (procedure reference 2012/2066 INI) from EDCs; c) Development of regulatory frameworks and decision criteria for identifying and restricting the use of EDCs; and d) a global (UN) strategy and workplan to support the safe management of these chemicals and to reduce their health risks in developing countries.
Research by Professor Maltby's group quantified the ecological impacts of contaminants draining off road surfaces into surface waters, revealing the importance of particulate-bound toxicants. We identified the key toxicants involved, the concentration thresholds at which they pose significant risks, and established the extent and the conditions under which they are harmful. These advances provided the scientific underpinning for the Highways Agency's revised (2009) guidance on environmental impact and assessment of road drainage, and it's Water Risk Assessment Tool. Our research has led to significant cost savings, and much improved targetting for monitoring and protecting the environment. The Highways Agency guidance and risk assessment tool has been adopted by the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland and other EU and non-EU countries, and has been applied to projects worth over £65m in the UK since 2010.
Our research on the natural processes that reduce pollutant concentrations in the subsurface has enabled the UK to adopt "Natural Attenuation" as a management policy and has changed professional practice at many contaminated sites. The massively reduced costs of this approach over active clean-up of sites in 2008-13 has saved a minimum of £100M for the UK. Our research has also influenced European practice, saving hundreds of millions of Euros. The beneficiaries are typically chemical industries of all sizes, from refineries to small repackaging plants and petrol station owners, but also local authorities and the State in cases where they would bear the cost of clean-up.
Research led by Professor Charles Tyler at the University of Exeter has provided critical data on the widespread adverse oestrogenic effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals in wild fish populations in the UK. This has triggered the UK government to take action through investment in research and development of policies and guidelines. The research has led to world-wide recognition that endocrine disrupting chemicals are an emerging policy issue, a £40 million demonstration project with the UK government and water industry, and multi-million pound benefits to the UK in terms of improved water quality and safeguarding freshwater wildlife.
In May 2013 the UN Environment Programme's Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants agreed to ban the widely-used flame retardant Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), following evidence that there may be harmful human exposure. Since the Convention came into force in 2004, only 21 compounds have had their use either banned or tightly restricted under its terms. Research findings from Stuart Harrad and his group at the University of Birmingham formed a significant element of the case used to support the ban on HBCD. Harrad's group provided the first measurements made anywhere in the world on concentrations of individual HBCD isomers in indoor dust leading to the realisation that the ingestion of indoor dust was a significant pathway of human exposure to HBCD. The group has also contributed important evidence of the capacity of HBCD to bioaccumulate and of its environmental persistence.