Contaminant Science Group
Progressing technological development provides solutions to societal challenges but also creates problems of its own. Crucial natural resources such as clean air, water or soil are under increasing pressure caused, among other factors, by production and release of chemicals. How detrimental are anthropogenic chemicals released to the environment? Which chemicals pose the most severe threat? Could they be replaced by less hazardous alternatives?
At The Contaminant Science Group we focus on the assessment of the environmental fate and hazard of chemicals: (eco)toxicity, bioaccumulation, biodegradability, partitioning, mobility of chemicals - you name it! We specifically try to pinpoint what types of hazards are to be expected, what makes a particular chemical hazardous and why.
We believe that technological development can be aligned with environment protection goals - it all comes down to the choices we make.
Contaminant Science Group at a glance
At The Contaminant Science Group we focus on the assessment of the environmental fate and hazard of chemicals. This includes investigations of (eco)toxicity, bioaccumulation, biodegradability, partitioning and mobility of various, mainly anthropogenic, compounds in the natural environment.
From the fundamental research perspective, we are interested in uncovering structure-activity relationships in these processes, i.e. in understanding what elements of the chemical structure are responsible for high or low biodegradability/toxicity/mobility etc. On a more applied level we aim to use that knowledge to support the design of chemicals that are less hazardous to man and the environment.
The Contaminant Science Group was established in 2019 thanks to the financial support of Kurt Eberhard Bode Foundation.
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