Home page
Aim:
To minimize the adverse impacts from anthropogenic emerging contaminants on public health and the environment.
Mission Statement:
Advancing the science of emerging contaminants through multi-disciplinary research that applies state-of-the-art analytical technologies with computional data analytics to increase our understanding of the occurrence, fate, exposure, risk, hazards and remediation strategies of legacy and emerging contaminants.
Emerging Contaminants:
Contamination of the environment with anthropogenically produced chemicals is one of the most serious environmental issues facing contemporary society. While synthetic chemicals are indeed essential for modern society some can be particularly problematic. The worst of these pollutants:
- biomagnify through the food chain, accumulating in humans and wildlife;
- cause negative health impacts including cancer, reproductive health problems, impaired immune function and neurodevelopmental impairment;
- are detected frequently in all environmental compartments (air, water, soil, biota) across the globe, including ‘pristine’ locations far from known point sources, where they can persist for decades or even longer;
- can be difficult to remediate or remove by natural processes from environmental matrices due to a combination of unique chemical properties and high cost of treatment.
There are over 147 million unique chemical compounds registered in the Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) database and over 147,000 of these are routinely used for industrial applications. All are potential environmental contaminants and for many new recently discovered emerging contaminants, we have no information on their persistence, environmental behaviour and/or toxicology. Current global approaches to chemical management involve the constant introduction of new chemicals with little thought for their potential impact on society and the environment. In fact, we are now engaged in an experiment involving all of humanity, where we are exposed to a mixture of thousands of chemicals in our daily life.
Our Role:
The Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants (ALEC) is a research partnership of dedicated environmental science professionals committed to understanding emerging contaminants in contemporary society. ALEC facilitates multi-disciplinary research, sets the agenda for emerging contaminants in Asia Pacific region and provide solutions to some of the most challenging problems associated with chemical exposure, risk and impact. The scale of the issue requires multidisciplinary collaborations of environmental scientists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, data scientists and policy-makers to work together to better understand the true impact of emerging contaminants on public health and the environment.
Contact Us
The Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants is committed to the communication of environmental science within the broader community. Since the beginning of the EnviSMART series, we have been joined by students, academics as well as representatives from industry and government from all corners of Australia and New Zealand. Since social distancing restrictions have allowed us to publish these events online, we have seen an excellent response from participants. Thank you to our sponsors for allowing us to publish all these events for free!
Building on the success of the EnviSMART series, we are happy to announce the Emerging Contaminants Workshop. A full one-day program of leading scientists speaking about their respective field from Australia and around the world.
- EnviSMART Monthly
The Environmental Science Meeting for Australian Research Teams (EnviSMART) is a monthly online seminar series to provide environmental science researchers throughout Australia a platform for scientific engagement and networking during the COVID-19 lockdown. The technical program will be one academic and two student presentations (1 hour) followed by online ‘Happy-Hour’.
Seminars will be held Thursday 16:00-17:00 (UTC +11). Each month there will be a presentation by one academic keynote (30 mins) and invited students and industry guests.
April 14, 2022 – Dennis Helsel
- EnviSMART Student Forum
The Environmental Science Meeting for Australian Research Teams (EnviSMART) is holding monthly meetings aimed towards post-graduate students to share their research amongst peers. Many students throughout the country now find themselves isolated with dramatically reduced social interactions. We are running a monthly online seminar series to showcase environmental science students throughout Australia. This will be a platform for scientific engagement and networking in a safe and respectful environment.
Format: Each month, three students will have the opportunity to present research from their studies in a 10- minute presentation with a further 5 minutes for questions from their peers.
Abstract Submission: Student abstracts will be assessed by a panel consisting of members from SETAC- AU, ALEC, ACLCA and WaterRA. Preference will be given to students who have recently published their work or have previously been accepted for a presentation at a cancelled event. Students need only submit an abstract once to be considered for each consecutive event. Successful applicants will be notified two weeks before the event and should have their 10- minute presentation prepared in advance.
Submit your abstract here.
- Emerging Contaminants Workshop
Previous Emerging Contaminants Workshop – 26th October 2021
EnviSMART is co-hosted with the following organizations:
Bradley Clarke, Chief Investigator
Dr Brad Clarke is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry at the University of Melbourne (UoM) and lead researcher of the Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants (ALEC). Prior he was Program Manager of Environmental Science at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia) 2016–2019 and has held research positions at Imperial College (London) and the University of Arizona. Brad specialises in characterising the fate, mobility and impact of legacy and emerging persistent organic pollutants.
Email: brad.clarke@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9035 3070
Drew Szabo, PhD Candidate
Master of Environmental Science (RMIT University)
Bachelor of Science (Western Sydney University)
Fate and impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Australian birds
Drew is currently researching the occurrence, impact and risk of PFASs to Australian birds using targeted and untargeted mass spectrometry. Drew is currently the Vice-Chair of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Asia Pacific Student Advisory Committee (APSAC) and the Chair of the Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants Student Forum Committee.
Email: drew.szabo@unimelb.edu.au
Jaye Marchiandi, PhD Candidate
Bachelor of Environmental Science (RMIT University)
Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemistry) Honours (RMIT University)
Unravelling the exposome to better characterise environmental determinants of human infertility
Jaye’s project aims to characterise and quantify the exposome, i.e., the totality of environmental (non-genetic) exposures from conception onward, in relation to human fertility. Utilising both targeted and untargeted analytical techniques, this project will investigate how exposure to mixtures of emerging contaminants, including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), phthalates, parabens, and bisphenols, impact human fertility in Australian populations. Jaye is also an active member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry (SETAC).
Email: jaye.marchiandi@unimelb.edu.au
Damien Moodie, PhD Candidate
Fate and environmental impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Australian biosolids
Damien’s project is investigating the levels and impacts of legacy and emerging PFAS in Australian biosolids. Damien is the first to document a range of PFAS in Australian biosolids that have previously gone unreported. Damien aims to complete a risk assessment to describe the fate, mobility and impacts of PFASs.
Email: damien.moodie@unimelb.edu.au
Subharthe Samandra, Master of Industrial Research (Chemistry)
Bachelor of Environmental Science (Major: Environmental Chemistry, Minor: Environmental Engineering) (RMIT University)
Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemistry) Honours (RMIT University)
Developing a stringent and efficient approach to identifying microplastics in various matrices
Subharthe is actively studying the presence of PFASs in the environment and in consumer products. He has partnered with Eurofins to develop accurate, precise, and reproducible analytical methods for identifying and quantifying microplastics in a range of environmental matrices. He will perform national surveys for microplastics in drinking water, wastewater and biosolids. Subharthe is also a member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC).
Email: subharthe.samandra@unimelb.edu.au
Julia Johnston, Master of Science (Chemistry)
Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) (University of Melbourne)
Landfill leachate impacts on groundwater used for agricultural irrigation
Julia is focusing on PFASs found in groundwater from adjacent landfills. Julia will investigate emerging PFASs using suspect screening with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Her work will also examine the impact of contaminated groundwater use on agricultural produce intended for human consumption.
Email: jjohnston2@student.unimelb.edu.au
Rob Hone, Master of Science (Chemistry)
Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) (University of Melbourne)
Ecological significance of illicit drugs in the environment
Rob is studying the prevalence of illicit drugs in Melbourne surface waters, their relative concentrations, and the subsequent effect they have on the environment.
Email: rhone@student.unimelb.edu.au
Wejdan Saeed A Alghamdi, Masters of Science (Chemistry)
Bachelor of Chemistry
Identification of novel per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) using high-resolution mass spectrometry
Wejdan’s project is aiming to identify novel PFASs. Her project will focus on Melbourne’s firefighting foams based on non-targeted and suspect screening analysis by using high-resolution QTOF-MS associated with LC and GC.
Email: alghamdiw@student.unimelb.edu.au
Jiaying Zheng, Masters of Environmental Science
Bachelor of Science (Environment)
Identifying pharmaceutical in the environment using suspect screening on high-resolution mass spectrometry
Jiaying’s project aims to identify pharmaceuticals in the Melbourne surface water based on suspect screening analysis by with LC-QTOF-MS.
Email: jiayizheng@student.unimelb.edu.au
Victoria Mentor, Masters of Biosciences
The ecological impacts of microplastics on individuals and populations of a marine invertebrate
Victoria’s project focuses on one key marine species to model the effects of microplastics on population dynamics. This project aims to identify the different effects between polluted and non-polluted microplastics in individuals and populations.
Email: vmentor@student.unimelb.edu.au
Shiyue Qiu, Honours (Chemistry)
Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) (University of Melbourne)
Semi-quantitative analysis of contaminants of emerging concern with suspect screening with high-resolution mass spectrometry
Shiyue is pushing the boundaries on analytical chemistry by attempting to provide semi-quantitative analysis with high-resolution QTOF-MS and suspect screening. This approach will allow for non-hypothesis approaches to environmental monitoring.
Email: shiyueq@student.unimelb.edu.au
Navindu De Silva, Bachelor of Science (Major: Environmental Engineering)
Validating suspect screening for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) with high-Resolution Mass Spectrometry
Email: pndesilva@student.unimelb.edu.au
STUDY WITH US
Dr Bradley Clarke | Senior Lecturer | Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Science
School of Chemistry | Faculty of Science
Chemistry Building 153, Room 374
The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia
Phone: +61 3 9035 3070
Email: brad.clarke@unimelb.edu.au